A DNR scientist takes a water sample near a farm in 1979
to test for pollution levels and overall stream health. Thousands of
tests like these have helped DNR track water quality over decades of
monitoring. PHOTO: WI DNR
How water is used
Focus on point source pollution
The name Wisconsin comes from the Ojibwa word for gathering place of waters. Wisconsin indeed has a lot of water, and it plays a crucial role in the state s ecological and economic health. Major strides have been made in the last 25 years to reduce water pollution and the harmful effects of human activity.
People in Wisconsin were upset about water pollution long before 1970, so the state was already moving in the right direction at that time. The focus was control of major sources of water pollution: municipal sewage treatment plants and industries that discharged waste directly into surface waters. This end-of-the-pipe pollution is known as point source pollution.
Many Wisconsin communities in 1970 did not have adequate sewage treatment, resulting in direct dumping of sewage into rivers and lakes and extensive water pollution. Of the communities which did use public treatment facilities to clean waste water before discharging it into waterways, most of these would not meet state and federal standards today.
As a result, raw, untreated waste laden with bacteria, phosphorus and heavy metals entered rivers and streams all over the state. Large amounts of untreated industrial wastewater also flowed into waterways from pulp and paper mills, cheese factories, vegetable canneries, metal finishing plants, leather tanneries and chemical manufacturers.
A DNR scientist takes a water sample near a farm in 1979
to test for pollution levels and overall stream health. Thousands of
tests like these have helped DNR track water quality over decades of
monitoring. PHOTO: WI DNR
The result was closed beaches, smelly algae blooms, frequent fish kills, and unsightly rivers and streams. A massive effort ensued to bring public sewer systems and industries up to new standards.
Water quality monitoring
Wisconsin had seriously begun monitoring surface waters by 1970. More than 200,000 tests were performed from 1969 to 1971. Automatic monitoring stations were installed on the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to continuously sample water quality for the first time. Data collection and surveillance gave us our first measurable proof about the origins of water pollution.
While the visible problems in rivers and lakes gained attention, groundwater didn t receive the same notice even though two- thirds of the state s population derived its drinking water from water stored underground.
Poorly-treated wastewater, detergents and storm water
laden with soil, fertilizers and other pollutants addded large amounts of
phosphorus to Wisconsin waters, leading to visible pollution such as
these billowing suds on the Wisconsin River. Improved wastewater
treatment, detergent bans and other measures have reduced the problem,
though excess phosphorus continues to affect water quality in the state. PHOTO:
Dean Tvedt
Groundwater monitoring was not coordinated and few measures existed to define its quality in 1970. The flow of contaminants from farms, old-style dumps, failing septic systems and other potential pollution sources was not understood and techniques for measuring groundwater quality were so unsophisticated that pollution of our precious groundwater went undiscovered.
Biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD, is a measure of organic pollutin which robs water of oxygen, thus threatening fish and aquatic life. Total suspended solids (TSS) refers to materials such as wood fibers, which can smother aquatic habitat. Paper mills have dramatically decreased both types of pollution since the 1970s.
Reduction in wastewater discharges
Since 1970, a high degree of compliance with tough regulations has significantly reduced conventional wastewater pollutants such as phosphorus, ammonia, and nitrogen from sewage treatment plants and industries. Wisconsin began issuing permits in 1974 which strictly limited the amount of polluted water entering streams and lakes. The permit program continues today.
Over the past 25 years, more than $3 billion of state and federal funding was used to upgrade municipal treatment facilities. Violations today are rare.
Cleaner surface water and strict groundwater regulation
Green Bay is clearer, phosphorus levels have decreased substantially and oxygen levels have increased to support a variety of fish species. The lower Fox River, once known as one of the country s most polluted rivers, has recovered considerably from its bouts with fish kills and high toxicity levels to become one of the finest walleye fisheries in the nation. Contaminated sediment remains a problem.
Community participation and industry partnerships have expanded the number of people devoted to cleaning up Great Lakes harbors and streams, lakes and rivers. Today, hundreds of volunteers also join scientists to collect lake and river monitoring data. More than 21,000 miles of Wisconsin s 32,000 miles of rivers and streams were assessed by 1994 using more than 50 fixed monitoring stations and field surveys.
Animal wastes are a major source of water pollution in
parts of Wisconsin. PHOTO: WI DNR
Wisconsin was among the first states to recognize and tackle groundwater pollution. A landmark groundwater protection law took effect in 1984. Wisconsin became the first state to monitor groundwater extensively to determine the quality and safety of drinking water. Extensive sampling of municipal and private wells continues. Agricultural pesticides and hazardous wastes leaking from abandoned dumps and underground gasoline storage tanks have been identified and regulated to protect groundwater.
Wisconsin is one of only three states the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently recognized as having the most comprehensive groundwater protection programs in the country.
Toxic water pollutants get attention
During the 1980s, environmental regulators learned much more about toxic substances such as heavy metals, dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These contaminants can now be detected in minute quantities in fish tissue, wastes and sediment.
Wisconsin has issued a sport fish consumption advisory since 1976 that warns people to avoid eating fish containing PCBs, mercury or other toxic substances. To eliminate the cause of this problem, Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping is being used to pinpoint the location of sediment contaminated with harmful substances so cleanup actions can be targeted where they ll do the most good.
Public enemy #1: polluted runoff
Despite major water quality improvements, water quality standards are still not being met in some locales. The cause is now Wisconsin s number one remaining source of water pollution polluted runoff.
Polluted runoff flowing over fields, city streets, roof tops, and parking lots is known as nonpoint source pollution because it does not come from a single source like the end of a pipe. This water from storms picks up pollutants wherever it travels, including soil, pesticides, manure, oils and heavy metals.
These contaminants end up in surface water, sediment or
groundwater. Other
nonpoint pollutants such as the airborne deposition of
mercury and other toxic
substances also wind up in our waterways. For example,
about 90 percent of the
pollutants in Lake Superior come from the air.
To combat these dispersed forms of water pollution, control efforts are shifting to encompass entire river drainage areas, known as watersheds. By consolidating all pollution control efforts within a watershed, we can protect rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater from pollutants coming from many sources.
Modern equipment helps scientists accurately measure
water pollutants. PHOTO: Robert Queen
With the lessons learned over 25 years, the DNR is beginning to focus now on preventing pollution from entering waterways in the first place. This is the most efficient and cost-effective way to increase the quality of the water all life requires for survival.
Wisconsin pulp and paper industry responds to the challenge
In 1970, pulp and paper mills discharged about 290 million gallons of wastewater into surface water most of it untreated. Tremendous amounts of material that uses up oxygen from the water during decay were discharged into streams. Fish and aquatic life died from lack of oxygen. Mill wastewater also carried large amounts of suspended solids, such as wood fiber, that could smother underwater habitat for scores of fish and invertebrates such as insects and mussels.
But by 1982, the paper industry managed to comply with state and federal laws by reducing the amount of oxygen-demanding material 91 percent and suspended solids by 84 percent, even though paper production increased more than 60 percent.
Since the 1980s, discharges of other pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorine and phosphorus have also declined dramatically. Mills reduced discharges of chlorine to the air and water from 1.2 million pounds a year to 100,000 pounds a year between 1987 and 1992. The Wisconsin Paper Council now is voluntarily working with its pulp and paper mill members and the DNR to eliminate or reduce toxic pollutants beyond what standards require, including an additional 67 percent reduction in chlorine by 1999.