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1 Contact Info: Kevin Masarik Center for Watershed Science and Education 800 Reserve St. Stevens Point, WI HELP US TELL OUR STORY BY SHARING YOURS. Are we a resource to you or your community? Please visit UWCX.ORG to describe how

2 Private vs. Public Water Supplies Public Water Supplies Regularly tested and regulated by drinking water standards. Private Wells Not required to be regularly tested. Not required to take corrective action Owners must take special precautions to ensure safe drinking water.

3 Required Testing for private wells Well Construction Coliform bacteria Nitrate* Pump work involving entry into a well Coliform bacteria Nitrate* Arsenic* * Requirement added in October 2014

4 Tests Important to Well Owners Contaminant Which wells should be tested? Coliform Bacteria Every well Annually Frequency Nitrate All wells Test at least once Pesticides Lead Used by pregnant women Levels close to 10 ppm Within ¼ mile of agricultural fields Homes with brass fixtures or copper plumbing installed before 1985 Test before pregnancy Test annually Consider testing at least once every 5-10 years Consider one time test Copper Homes with copper plumbing Consider one time test Arsenic All wells Consider one time test

5 Why don t people test their water? Don t know what to test for Don t know where to send a sample Just haven t got around to it Don t drink the water Cost Water tastes great Hasn t killed me yet.

6 Community Well Water Testing Programs 1. Advertising and bottle distribution 2. Sample collection and drop off. 4. Hold educational program for community. 3. Samples are analyzed at WEAL

7 WI Well Water Quality Viewer Nearly 900,000 households rely on private wells as their primary water supply. Homeowners with private wells are encouraged to have wells tested on a regular basis to determine the safety of the water supply for purposes such as drinking and cooking. While testing is the only way to determine the types and amount of contaminants in a well water system, homeowners, health professionals and local officials often want to know more about water quality issues in their community. Features Search for information on 14 different water quality parameters Health related contaminants: Nitrate Arsenic Atrazine Lead Copper View water quality information at a county, town or section level detail Generate groundwater quality summaries by county, town or any user defined area greater than 1 sq. mile Available online at:

8 Testing strategies Continue to collect and compile baseline data, particularly in areas where little is known For those areas with detailed groundwater quality data, develop approaches to investigate changes in quality over time Focus on areas where problems have been identified Smaller study areas more detail, apply advanced testing capabilities. Testing over longer period, more repeatable testing.

9 Testing Strategies Continue to collect and compile baseline data, particularly in areas where little is known For those areas with detailed groundwater quality data, develop approaches to investigate changes in quality over time Focus on areas where problems have been identified Smaller study areas more detail, apply advanced testing capabilities Test the same wells at regular intervals over longer period

10 Agricultural tracers Analyte WI Public Health Standard (parts per billion) Highest Concentration in Chippewa County Study (ppb) Alachlor ESA Alachlor OA No standard Not detected Metolachlor ESA Metolachlor OA 0.21 Septic tracers

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12 Chippewa County: Nitrate by % Agriculture n=197 n=230 n=252 n=65

13 Chippewa County: Nitrate and septic system density

14 2016 Nitrate Concentration (mg N/L) Nitrate Change (mg/l) Comparing nitrate concentrations over time Decreased (10%) n=51 Little to no change (64%) n=327 Increased (26%) n= vs (n=510) Year Nitrate Average (mg N/L) Greater than 10 mg/l % % % Nitrate Concentration (mg N/L)

15 Future Groundwater Concerns Climate Change Impacts to Groundwater Longer growing seasons Changing cropping systems/land-uses Increased potential for pollutant delivery to groundwater Emerging Contaminants Pharmaceuticals Antibiotics Viruses Naturally occurring metals and minerals (ex. strontium, aluminum, uranium, molybdenum, etc.)

16 Contact Info: Kevin Masarik Center for Watershed Science and Education 800 Reserve St. Stevens Point, WI HELP US TELL OUR STORY BY SHARING YOURS. Are we a resource to you or your community? Please visit UWCX.ORG to describe how

17 Water quality changes over time (1985, 2007, 2016) All samples Nitrate-Nitrogen (mg/l) Chloride (mg/l) n Median Mean StDev Min Max Median Mean StDev Min Max < < < < <

18 Examples of TNC wells with decreasing trend

19 Examples of TNC wells with an increasing trend

20 Examples of TNC wells w/no trend

21 Location and result for TNC wells

22 Counties that have seen more TNC wells increase (red) or decrease (blue) Masarik et al., 2014

23 Casing depth and nitrate Above SWL n=122 n=196 n=107 n=89 n=230