Nitrate
	Pesticides
	Quantity

Develop Collaborative Partnerships: The Planning and Zoning Department (P&Z) was named the lead agency in the County for Groundwater programming under the 1988 Groundwater Management Plan.  In reality, P&Z staff have worked closely with the Environmental Health Section (EHS) on health-related groundwater issues.  EHS has obtained a grant to help develop health-related content for the Groundwater Website, contracts with DNR for sampling and inspection of noncommunity public wells, and counsels citizens with known drinking water contamination.  In addition, P&Z and EHS are currently developing the well abandonment program.  (See below).  

Determine Recharge Rates and Water Budgets for All of the County's Aquifers:  It will be possible to properly understand land use impacts in Portage county only if the water budgets (infiltration vs. withdrawal) for each of the County's aquifers are well understood.  This understanding is necessary in order to provide adequate groundwater resources for all, consumptive and non-consumptive (environmental, recreational, etc.) uses of our groundwater.  This will be accomplished using the County Geographic Information System (GIS).

Negotiate Conservation Easements:  This strategy would allow land in well recharge areas to remain in private ownership, but the property owner would be paid to allow only groundwater friendly land use practices.  For instance, a farmer would agree to only plant crops that could be grown without the use of pesticides or fertilizers, which could leach to groundwater.  In return, the farmer would be paid an easement fee of the difference between the value of the crop produced and the value of another crop that could have been produced had  pesticides or fertilizers been used. 

Buy Land:  Land in well recharge areas could be purchased by government or land trusts and put in a land use that would not contaminate groundwater.  This is potentially much more expensive than conservation easements.  It has been done in Portage County in Stevens Point and Whiting, with the land added to the municipal park systems.

Determine Areas with High Nitrate and Pesticide Levels: This will be done on the County GIS using sampling information on currently on file and future information obtained from other sources.  Based on this information, ongoing monitoring can be prioritized to the areas with the greatest problems. 

Develop a Portage County Pesticide Reporting Database:  It is known that certain pesticides currently or historically used in Portage County leach to groundwater, especially in areas of sandy soils.  It is very expensive to analyze groundwater samples for pesticides.  It is not economically feasible, nor a wise use of sampling funds, to analyze routinely for pesticides.  Currently, licensed pesticide applicators are required to keep records of locations and application rates of restricted use pesticides.  This information is only available to DATCP if they choose to subpoena the information.  If the dates, locations of use, and application rates of each pesticide were available to Portage County staff, it would be possible to decide likely locations to sample for individual pesticides used in these areas.

Support a Statewide Pesticide Reporting Database:  Current legislation has established a limited program in DATCP to study the feasibility of a statewide pesticide reporting database.  If Portage County wants to see a statewide pesticide reporting database established, we need to be at least as active in our support as some other interests are in their opposition.  (See previous.)

Negotiate with Corporate Food Processors Regarding Pesticides and Nutrients:  Farmers who grow vegetable crops intended for sale to the corporate food processors (e.g. Del Monte, McCain, etc.) are required by contract to grow these crops under specific conditions.  Often these conditions require nutrient and pesticide applications that can result in leaching of chemicals to groundwater.  Negotiations with processors may be able to lessen these requirements resulting in decreased potential for groundwater contamination.  A substantial amount of the land in the recharge areas for the Stevens Point, Whiting and Plover municipal wells is used for vegetable production.  Most of the land used for vegetable production outside these municipal well recharge areas contains drinking water wells for hundreds of rural families. 

Court Businesses That can Utilize Groundwater Friendly Crops:  Some crops can be grown profitably with little or no impacts to groundwater.  Specifically, legumes (alfalfa and soybeans) are commonly grown in many areas for livestock feed and other uses.  Whether farmers will grow these crops locally depends on availability of a stable market.  Businesses that use these groundwater friendly crops could be brought together with the Portage County farmers who could produce them without contaminating the groundwater.  We need to identify these businesses and determine what is needed to bring them together with the farmers.  Golden Sands RC&D is currently investigating groundwater friendly crops that can be grown in central Wisconsin and likely uses for them.  The Village of Plover has established a committee to develop ways to get farmers in its municipal well recharge area to grow groundwater friendly crops to reduce the cost of treating its drinking water in the future.

Encourage Organic and Sustainable Agriculture:  It has been demonstrated that organic farming, which eliminates the use of pesticides, has lower groundwater impacts than current mainstream agricultural practices.  While the knowledge of organic farming practices is available, we need to actively promote the use of these techniques as a means to protect and improve groundwater.  This will involve UW-Extension staff.  Sustainable agriculture means growing crops and livestock profitably without deterioration of the environment.

Establish a Well Abandonment Ordinance in Portage County:  Unused wells are a great threat for contamination of drinking water since they provide a direct route to the groundwater for any pollutants on or near the ground surface.  Currently, DNR administers the well abandonment program.  It does not have enough staff to follow up on proper abandonment of unused wells, and has offered to allow counties to administer this program as delegates of the State.  Portage County proposes to pass an ordinance vesting authority for this program in the Planning and Zoning Department, and Health and Human Services-Environmental Health Section.  Ray Schmidt and Mike Carder are developing the Ordinance, which will be submitted to DNR and to the County Board for approval and adoption.

Education and Ongoing Public Education:  A collection of items comprises this strategy.  The groundwater website, a collection of publications available in the public libraries, presentations to community groups and elected officials, development of curriculum and presentations for the area schools, and submission of articles to local media will serve to keep groundwater issues in the public eye and to allow citizens of all ages to gain enough groundwater knowledge to make educated decisions and to be involved in the political process.

Educate Rural and Urban Homeowners Concerning the Impacts on Groundwater of Septic Systems, and Lawn and Garden Fertilizers and Pesticides.

Educate Operators of Businesses and Institutions Regarding Groundwater Impacts from Landscape Practices, and Chemical Storage and Use.

Continue Current County Programs Which Affect or Improve Groundwater:  Many of the current County groundwater-related programs were established based on the 1988 Groundwater Management Plan.  These existing programs have been reviewed and determined to be necessary for future groundwater protection efforts.