Wisconsin s Buried Treasure: Groundwater Basics. Kevin Masarik Center for Watershed Science and Education

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1 Wisconsin s Buried Treasure: Groundwater Basics Kevin Masarik Center for Watershed Science and Education

2 Groundwater is Valuable to Wisconsin 95% of Wisconsin Communities 75% of Wisconsin Citizens rely on it to meet their daily water needs Supplies almost all water for agriculture livestock, irrigation, dairy operations 1/3 of industrial water use 1/2 of commercial water use

3 The Water Cycle: Where does all that water go?

4 What is an aquifer? A water bearing geological formation.

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6 Water table Unsaturated zone Saturated zone

7 Unsaturated zone Water table Groundwater flow Saturated zone

8 What is a Watershed? Rivers and streams act like the drain for our groundwater. Large regional watersheds are made up of many small local watersheds that are tributaries of a larger river system. Figure by Kevin Masarik, CWSE

9 Wisconsin s Watersheds Wisconsin has three major watersheds or drainage basins. Rivers in the Lake Michigan Watershed are indicated by blue lines, rivers in the Lake Superior Watershed are indicated by orange lines, and rivers in the Mississippi River Watershed are indicated by green lines. These three watersheds are further subdivided into the watersheds that you see below, represented by the different colors.

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11 Groundwater Issues in Wisconsin Water Quantity Water Quality

12 Evapotranspiration 20 in. Precipitation 32 in. Runoff 2 in. Infiltration 10 in Groundwater or Baseflow

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16 What happens when we have more rain? Local groundwater flow Impermeable bedrock Regional groundwater flow

17 What happens when we have more rain? Local groundwater flow Impermeable bedrock Regional groundwater flow More infiltration Groundwater levels rise More water in rivers, lakes and streams Seasonal and climatic implications

18 What happens when we have less rain? Surface-water divides Local groundwater flow Impermeable bedrock Regional groundwater flow Groundwater divides

19 What happens when we have less rain? Local groundwater flow Impermeable bedrock Regional groundwater flow Less infiltration Groundwater levels start to go down Less water in rivers, lakes and streams Seasonal and climatic implications

20 What happens when we decrease infiltration? Surface-water divides Local groundwater flow Impermeable bedrock Regional groundwater flow Groundwater divides

21 Evapotranspiration 20 in. Precipitation 32 in. Runoff 2 in. Infiltration 10 in Groundwater or Baseflow

22 Evapotranspiration 20 in. Precipitation 32 in. Megalomart Runoff 6 in. Runoff 6 in. Infiltration 6 in Groundwater or Baseflow Increase in impervious surfaces means more flooding and more transport of pollutants, sediment and heat.

23 Evapotranspiration 20 in. Precipitation 32 in. Megalomart Rain barrels* Stormwater retention and infiltration basin* Runoff 2 in. Runoff 6 in. Infiltration 10 in Raingarden* Groundwater or Baseflow *All aimed at capturing storm water and releasing back into the environment slowly.

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25 Groundwater Issues in Wisconsin Water Quantity Water Quality

26 Water quantity issues in Wisconsin: Concentrated pumping of groundwater threatens health of nearby streams and lakes. Communities have had to locate alternative sources of water because of contamination in existing aquifers. Some communities have trouble extracting sufficient groundwater because of local geologic conditions.

27 Water quantity issues in Wisconsin: Concentrated pumping of groundwater threatens health of nearby streams and lakes. Communities have had to locate alternative sources of water because of contamination in existing aquifers. Some communities have trouble extracting sufficient groundwater because of local geologic conditions.

28 Water quantity issues in Wisconsin: Concentrated pumping of groundwater threatens health of nearby streams and lakes. Communities have had to locate alternative sources of water because of contamination in existing aquifers. Some communities have trouble extracting sufficient groundwater because of local geologic conditions.

29 Water quantity issues in Wisconsin: Concentrated pumping of groundwater threatens health of nearby streams and lakes. Communities have had to locate alternative sources of water because of contamination in existing aquifers. Some communities have trouble extracting sufficient groundwater because of local geologic conditions.

30 water basics Universal Solvent p - Naturally has stuff dissolved in it. Impurities depend on rocks, minerals, land-use, plumbing, packaging, and other materials that water comes in contact with. H O p + H Can also treat water to take stuff out