DRAFT Groundwater Management Plan
Section 1 Introduction
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SECTION 1.0 INTRODUCTION (pdf file)
This report represents the combined efforts of many individuals concerned with the wise management of Portage County groundwater resources. The discussions, analyses, and inventories are based on the best available information at this time, and provide a strong foundation for continuing a responsive and effective groundwater management program for Portage County. As with all programs of this type, conclusions, recommendations, and plans of action will need to be updated in future years as our database grows and our knowledge of the environment improves.
This report is the 2004 Revision to the Portage County Groundwater Management Plan adopted in 1988, and contains the background information for developing management strategies, as well as specific goals and strategies for planning, management, and education.
This report contains the following subjects:
Section 1.............. Introduction
Section 2.............. Environmental Assessment
Section 3.............. Inventory of Pollution Sources
Section 4.............. County Groundwater Resources
Section 5.............. Management Techniques and Options
Section 6.............. Recommendations
SECTION 1.1 BACKGROUND AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
Portage County, population 67,182 (2000 US Census), is located in central Wisconsin, adjacent to the Wisconsin River. The County consists of 17 civil townships covering 823 square miles or 526,000 acres. The Stevens Point - Plover - Whiting urban area is situated within 40 miles of Wausau, Marshfield, and Wisconsin Rapids. Portage County is bordered on the north by Marathon County, on the south by Adams and Waushara Counties, on the east by Waupaca County, and on the west by Wood County.
The landforms and hydrogeology of Portage County are strongly linked to past glacial activity. Distinct land types are apparent across the County, presenting an interesting variety of geology, soils, land use potentials and limitations, and other characteristics related to groundwater management.
Our groundwater resources are vital to the health and prosperity of Portage County. One hundred percent of domestic water use and greater than ninety percent of all water use in the County is from groundwater resources. Groundwater contamination problems, such as numerous instances of nitrate nitrogen exceeding the public health standard, and the detection of pesticides and herbicides in groundwater, have called attention to the need for groundwater management strategies to protect this invaluable resource. Maintaining the quality and quantity of groundwater is vital to the maintenance of the quality of life in Portage County and the health of its citizens (See APPENDIX VG– Value of Groundwater Survey). If the groundwater resources are allowed to continue to deteriorate, not only human health and environmental quality will be affected, but economic growth, property values, and the image of the County will also suffer.
In September 1984, the Portage County Board of Supervisors created a Groundwater Council, charged with the primary task of developing a strategy and policy for addressing public concerns on groundwater protection and management for recommendation to the County Board. The Council was composed of local public officials representing various units of government from throughout the County.
To assist in the identification of public concerns and the resolution of problems, the Council created the Technical and the Citizens Advisory Committees. The Technical Advisory Committee was composed of
representatives from County and State departments whose activities related to groundwater protection and management.
The primary functions of the Technical Advisory Committee were to gather and evaluate technical data, recommend alternative courses of action, and to implement the directives of the Council.
The Citizens Advisory Committee was composed of citizens representing various interests from throughout Portage County. The functions of the Citizens Advisory Committee were to identify the concerns of the County's residents, recommend educational programming, and to review the information and recommendations made by the Technical Committee.
Based on input from the County Board and the Technical and Citizens Advisory Committees, the Groundwater Council established the following priority list for groundwater activities:
1. Protection of public well recharge areas;
2. Development of a comprehensive groundwater protection plan;
3. Aldicarb use;
4. Greater emphasis on information and education;
5. Fertilizer use in agriculture;
6. Nitrate sources and contamination;
7. Coordination and computerization of available groundwater quality data;
8. Hazardous waste generation and disposal;
9. Pesticide use; and
10. Private well permitting and construction.
In reviewing the County's management priorities, it was decided that the development of a Countywide Groundwater Management Plan should be the County's number one priority because the management plan would address and include recommendations concerning most of the other individual items identified as important in the Council's survey. The County Board subsequently passed a resolution in December 1985 directing the Portage County Planning Department to prepare a Countywide Groundwater Management Plan in cooperation with other County departments.
Following adoption of the Groundwater Management Plan in 1988, several changes were made in the structures of county agencies and committees to facilitate implementation of the recommendations of the Plan. Responsibility for all County groundwater related programs was assigned to the Planning and Zoning Committee. The Planning Department, the Zoning Department, the Land Conservation Department, and the groundwater related functions of the Community Human Services Department were consolidated into the newly formed Planning and Zoning Department. The County hired a permanent Water Quality Specialist. The Technical Advisory Committee was disbanded.
The Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) was reformulated to allow each of the incorporated and unincorporated municipalities in the County to appoint a representative to the CAC. The task of the CAC was to advise the Planning and Zoning Committee on ways to implement the recommendations of the Plan. A reorganization of the CAC in 1995 added three Subcommittees – Groundwater Management and Implementation, Public Involvement and Education, and Continual Assessment – to play specific roles within the overall groundwater management structure.
Implementation of the numerous recommendations of the 1988 Plan has been variable, depending on agency jurisdictional issues, availability of funding and expertise, and the priorities assigned to each task. The summary of recommendations, and the status of each, is included in Appendix RE.
SECTION 1.2 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goals of this planning effort are the same as for the development of the original Portage County Groundwater Management Plan - to identify the major problems facing our County with respect to our groundwater resources, to provide specific action recommendations for groundwater protection and management in the County, and to provide a technical basis and justification for these recommendations based on the best available information.
Since a great deal of knowledge has been gained since adoption of the 1988 Plan, certain sections of this plan revision are more extensive than others. Some of the issues identified in the 1988 Plan have been dealt with institutionally, and groundwater protection relative to these issues is ongoing. The additional knowledge gained over the intervening years will be used to identify and address groundwater problems not identified or adequately addressed under the earlier Plan. The recommendations for actions contained in this Plan are based on the potential of groundwater contaminants to harm the health of Portage County’s citizens and to cause deterioration of the natural environment.
The primary objectives were to accomplish the following:
1. Develop, from appropriate databases, information describing how meteorology, topography, soils, land use practices, and waste management practices may influence the quality and quantity of Portage County's groundwater resources.
2. Inventory existing and potential sources of groundwater pollution in Portage County, assess the risks these pollution sources present to groundwater quality and the health of our citizens, and present available regulatory and nonregulatory (management) practices to control and prevent these sources of pollution from causing unacceptable levels of groundwater contamination.
3. Delineate, map, and compile information on areas in Portage County most susceptible to groundwater pollution. All information will be compatible with the Countywide geographic information system (GIS), to allow flexible analysis of potential solutions to current or anticipated groundwater contamination.
4. List available federal, State, and local options and approaches to groundwater management and protection.
5. Identify potential corrective actions, technologies and alternatives to apply in areas already experiencing groundwater contamination.
6. Develop management and regulatory alternatives and recommendations (action program) for implementing groundwater management and protection programs at the County level.
7. Establish, where appropriate, various County departmental policies necessary to implement effective groundwater management.
8. Continue to develop a cooperative network with County municipalities, whereby these municipalities develop appropriate groundwater management strategies for areas outside of County jurisdiction.
SECTION 1.3 AUTHORITY
County planning and zoning authority is set forth in s.59.69 of the Wisconsin Statutes. The County board of any county may plan for the physical development and zoning of territory within the county for a number of purposes listed in s.59.69(1), including:
"...to encourage uses of land and other natural resources which are in accordance with their character and adaptability;...to encourage the protection of groundwater resources;… to preserve wetlands...to conserve soil, water and forest resources;...to provide healthy surroundings for family life..."
Reference to preparation of a county development plan are contained in s.59.97(3). More specifically, s.59.69(3) provides:
"The county zoning agency may direct the preparation of a county development plan or parts of the plan thereof for the physical development of the unincorporated territory within the county..."
Furthermore, zoning and other land use decisions should be based on the development plan as per s.59.69(3)(f):
"...The development plan shall serve as a guide for public and private actions and decisions to assure the development of public and private property in appropriate relationships."
Wisconsin's comprehensive groundwater legislation, 1983 Wisconsin Act 410, specifically added groundwater protection to the statutory authorization for planning and zoning to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. This legislation, which became effective on May 11, 1984, clearly established groundwater protection as a high priority in Wisconsin. In addition to encouraging local planning and zoning for groundwater protection, this law also established State level programs to set groundwater quality standards, provide compensation for chemically contaminated private wells, regulate groundwater monitoring, develop laboratory certification, provide an environmental repair fund for problem waste disposal sites, and several other new regulatory programs.
SECTION 1.4 COOPERATING AGENCIES
Successful completion of this plan revision required assistance from staff of county, State and federal agencies, including Portage County Planning and Zoning and Health and Human Services Departments, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Department of Commerce (DCOMM), University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin‑Extension, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), Central Wisconsin Groundwater Center, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Golden Sands Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), and United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Much of the information on the hydrogeologic setting in Portage County, the potential contaminant sources, and the groundwater quality has been incorporated into the County computerized geographical information system (GIS). The GIS system technology will help resource managers and scientists to analyze the relationships between groundwater quality, groundwater flow, land use (potential pollution sources), soils, and subsurface materials so that management strategies can be refined to be most effective. The essential GIS layers, including Soil Survey (NRCS) and Wetland (DNR) maps, Groundwater Contours and Aquifer Potential (WGNHS) maps, hydrology, and tax parcels have been completed, and will continue to be updated. Well construction and water sample information for individual wells has been compiled from several databases maintained by DNR, DATCP, UW Stevens Point and Portage County, and will be updated as time allows. Private sewage system information has been entered from paper files in Planning and Zoning. Other additional information will continue to be incorporated into the GIS to allow program planning and analysis to be performed using current data. It is anticipated that this Plan and other GIS based information will be available to the public over the Internet in the future.
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