Groundwater Awareness Week!

Well testing urged in a state where less than 11 percent do

MADISON - Water officials’ annual reminder to private well owners to test their water to make sure it’s safe to drink carries added emphasis this year.

DNR recommends you test your well water every year to make sure it's safe for your family to drink.

Groundwater Awareness Week, March 7-13, focuses on encouraging private well owners to schedule their water tests, following a recent Wisconsin study suggesting that the vast majority of Wisconsin well owners do not take this important step.

A 2007 study of private well owners in seven Wisconsin counties reported that only 11 percent of participants had tested their well water in the last year. Lori Severtson, RN, PhD, an assistant professor in the UW-Madison School of Nursing who led the study funded by the Great Lakes Regional Water Program and the Medical College of Wisconsin Partnership Program, believes that number is actually lower.

“We’re glad that Groundwater Awareness Week is shining the spotlight on testing because it’s something that all private well owners should do, but often don’t,” says Steve Ales, Department of Natural Resources drinking water and groundwater supervisor for south central Wisconsin.

“Most private wells provide safe drinking water, but conditions can change with time and well owners should regularly test their water to make sure it’s bacteria free.”

DNR recommends that well owners sample their wells once a year for bacteria and any time they notice a change in taste, odor or color. Depending on where they live, there may be other contaminants they should test for regularly as well.

The Test Your Private Well Water Annually page of the DNR Web site features information on what contaminants to test for, a video showing how to properly collect a water sample for accurate testing, and links to lists of laboratories that can do the testing, as well as brochures describing different contaminants.

Few follow testing recommendations to assure safe drinking water

Owners of private wells, like this one here, are responsible for testing their water to make sure it’s safe to drink.
WDNR Photo

About two-thirds of Wisconsin residents get their drinking water from groundwater wells, compared to half of the population in the rest of the United States. Municipal utilities are required to monitor the water produced by their wells, but private well owners are responsible for testing their own water, Ales says.

Wisconsin has 800,000 to one million private wells, and up to 10,000 new wells are drilled every year. While the state has some of the nation’s most protective groundwater laws and well construction codes, some wells may become contaminated with bacteria that is not filtered out as the water soaks into the ground, says Bob Barnum, DNR drinking water and groundwater supervisor for northeastern Wisconsin.

Surviving bacteria can find its way into the groundwater by moving through shallow fractured bedrock, quarries, sinkholes, inadequately grouted wells or cracks in the well casing. Insects or small rodents can also carry bacteria into wells with inadequate caps or seals.

The UW study suggested that people often don’t test unless they have a special event that triggers them to do so, Severtson says. “One of the strong drivers of testing is circumstances – people are selling their home, getting a new well or having a baby,” she says.

Asked why they did not test, study participants reported that they that they hadn’t noted any problems so far, that they didn’t know what to test for or how to go about it. “People tend to rely on sensory information to inform the need to test water, even though most contaminants cannot be seen, smelled or observed,” Severtson says.

Private well owners may want to test for other contaminants, like nitrate, arsenic or agricultural chemicals depending on the surrounding land use practices in your area, says Rhonda Volz, DNR drinking water and groundwater supervisor for southeastern Wisconsin.

“If you want to know where to start, a good place is to test for bacteria and nitrate. These two things will talk you an awful lot, and if you’re wondering beyond that, talk to a licensed professional,” she said.

To get started testing your water, read through the tips on Test Your Private Well Water Annually and get a test kid from a certified lab by looking at the lists on the DNR Web site or by looking in your phone book for a lab near you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Ales (608) 275-3311; Rhonda Volz (414) 263-8576; Bob Barnum (920) 662-5188

Atrazine and the African clawed frog

Wisconsin's Water Library's AskWater email reference service often responds to questions about frogs. Cricket frogs, Spring Peeper frogs, Northern Leopard frogs, and, of course, Bullfrogs, there are many species found throughout Wisconsin. From flooded prairie to ephemeral pond, our state provides many habitats for a peaceful evening of frog song.

But frogs also play an important roll as indicator species. Their abundance and overall health often reflect the health of whole ecosystems. Frogs are being carefully watched by scientists.

A new study published by the National Academy of Science analyzes atrazine and it's affect on the African clawed frog. A popular corn herbicide, atrazine is one of the most commonly applied pesticides in the world. And, as a result, it's often found in ground and surface waters. In Wisconsin, for example, a 2005 DATCP survey of 16,000 private wells showed that almost 40% tested positive for it (FY 2009 Groundwater Coordinating Council Report to the Legislature, p. 74).

According to the new study, this is bad for frogs.

Atrazine-exposed males were both demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized as adults. Ten percent of the exposed genetic males developed into functional females that copulated with unexposed males and produced viable eggs. Atrazine-exposed males suffered from depressed testosterone, decreased breeding gland size, demasculinized/feminized laryngeal development, suppressed mating behavior, reduced spermatogenesis, and decreased fertility.

If you'd like to know more, read the study here.
Or, check out the Wisconsin's Water Library's recommended reading list on frogs.

Meeting to Examine Emerging Challenges for Wisconsin's Water

Annual meeting of the American Water Resources Association–Wisconsin Section. Two hundred researchers are expected to attend this year's meeting.

WHEN: March 4-5, 2010

WHERE: Madison Marriott West, Middleton, Wis., (608) 831-2000

AGENDA: The three plenary speakers are:

• Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation's Mark Borchardt, who will begin the meeting with a talk on “Groundwater-Borne Viruses and Illnesses Risk: Policy Successes and Failures.”

• Paul Kent, an attorney with Anderson & Kent, S.C., who will present a talk entitled “Water Law and Wisconsin.”

• Jonathan Patz of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who will present the closing plenary, “Climate Change: Implications for Wisconsin's Water Quality.”

Throughout the two-day meeting, leading water scientists, resource managers and planners from around the state will present their latest research findings about Wisconsin’s most pressing water issues. Friday morning, March 5, Warren Gebert of the U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Water Science Center will discuss the effectiveness of more than 30 years of stormwater management in Middleton, Wis. Using data from the Pheasant Branch Creek, Gebert and his colleagues found that best management practices used over the last three decades have decreased the annual sediment and phosphorus loads in the creek even as increased urbanization led to higher annual runoff and flood peaks. Since 2002, the annual sediment load has decreased 45 percent and the phosphorus load decreased 48 percent. Other streams draining into Lake Mendota did not show the same decrease, suggesting that Middleton's stormwater management has been largely successful. However, the researchers found that chloride levels from road deicers regularly exceed US EPA standards, a finding echoed in a separate regional and national study that will be presented on Thursday afternoon by Steven Corsi, also of the U.S. Geological Survey Wisconsin Water Resources Science Center.

Following the presentations, at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, March 5, researchers interested in the effects of climate change on Wisconsin's water resources will convene to develop and prioritize water resource management adaptation strategies for the state of Wisconsin that can be applied on local, regional and statewide scales.

A full program and abstracts are available online.

BACKGROUND: The Wisconsin Section of the American Water Resources Association provides an interdisciplinary forum for people involved in all aspects of water resources research and management.

The meeting is sponsored by the UW Water Resources Institute, UW-Stevens Point Center for Watershed Science, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey Wisconsin Water Science Center. The University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute is one of 54 such institutes nationwide, all focused on addressing problems of water supply and water quality at local, state, regional and national levels.

For more information, please contact: Kevin Masarik, President, AWRA Wisconsin Section, (715) 346-4276, kmasarik@uwsp.edu

Happy birthday, Theodor S. Geisel!

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss.

On March 2, 1904, an American treasure was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Theodor S. Geisel, more commonly known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, has delighted readers of all ages with his many wonderful books. The Water Library has just two of his titles: 'The Lorax' and 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.'

A great way to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday is to participate in the national reading event created in his honor, Read Across America.

To learn more about Dr. Seuss, visit his Web site, Seussville.

And the Library of Congress has a great Web site full of activities and resources around reading.

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Recent acquisitions in the Water Library

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush." - Doug Larson

March feels like the longest month of the year when you live in Wisconsin. The days get longer but there is still a foot of snow on the ground in Madison. The vernal equinox happens but that just means the days are only as long as the night. Dreams of green grass and daffodils are just dreams. Happily it is a good month to read and maybe plan your gardening or some summer travel.

Wisconsin's Water Library invites you to check out our new acquisitions list of books cataloged into our library in January and February 2010. The library has been heavily acquiring materials on climate change but there are also new titles on shipwrecks, writing science, and titles on the care and feeding of frogs.

Wish you had a green thumb? How about making that thumb even greener with a few tips and helpful guides to garden in an environmentally safe way? If you prefer to read books about green gardening or environmentally-friendly lawn care, be sure to see our recommended reading list - it's chock full of great readings.

And if you are beginning to make summer plans, be sure to consider our Great Lakes. There is so much to do and see.

Happy reading!

Some new books in the Water Library

Climate change : the science, impacts and solutions. London : Earthscan, 2009.
The author examines the latest analyses of climate change, such as new and alarming observations regarding Arctic sea ice, the recently published IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, and the policies of the new Australian Government and how they affect the implementation of climate change initiatives. 2nd ed.

Hormones and pharmaceuticals generated by concentrated animal feeding operations : transport in water and soil. New York : Springer Verlag, 2009
This book examines how hormones, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals generated from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) of cattle, poultry, swine and aquaculture are transported in water and soil. Edited by Laurence S. Shore and Amy Pruden.

Fractals and multifractals in ecology and aquatic science. Boca Raton : CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, 2010.
This book provides scientists with a basic understanding of fractals and multifractals and the techniques that utilize them in analyzing ecological phenomenon. These techniques are especially valuable for analyzing spatial data sets and physical-biological couplings at different spatial and/or temporal scales.

Sea soup : phytoplankton. Gardiner, Me. : Tilbury House, 1999.
Sea Soup introduces children to the world of phytoplankton, plants so tiny that a million can fit in a teaspoon of sea water and so numerous that they produce half the world's oxygen. Each section of the book answers a question, such as "Are they plants or are they animals?" "How did tiny phytoplankton help build the largest structures on earth?" and "How do we know so much about things most of us have never seen?" For grades 5-8.

Dane waters: a reflection of us all [videorecording]. Worthwhile Films, 2007.
A look at how storm water from urban areas negatively impacts lakes, rivers and streams in Wisconsin in the Madison area and provides information on what each of us can do to prevent pollution from reaching these water resources.From the Madison Area Municipal Storm Water Partnership. 26 minutes. DVD format.

Climate change Web site for kids

NASA has a gorgeous Web site for children that you and your kids shouldn't miss. It's called "Climate Kids" and at first glance you might be hooked. The child-friendly layout, the graphics, the answers to questions your child might be wondering about all make the site useful and engaging. The Water Library especially likes the section, "Earth Now" that highlights recent news about climate change.

Check it out!