EM Insight 2024 Quarter 3: July - September

Photograph of rolling green dunes on a shore overlooking blue water and under a cloud-filled sky. Photo is "Early Morning Dew” by Matthew John George and was submitted for the 2015 Great Waters Photo Contest. — “Early Morning Dew” by Matthew John George - 2015 Great Waters Photo Contest

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The EM Insight is a quarterly report from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Environmental Management (EM) Division that profiles some of the great results that our staff, teams and partnerships have achieved. The division is pleased to present the following highlights of our work from July - September 2024.

PFAS Updates

PFAS Updates for Tribal Nations

In July, staff from the divisions of Environmental Management and Fish, Wildlife and Parks recorded a webinar about PFAS in Wisconsin for members of Wisconsin’s Tribal Nations. The DNR’s staff shared information including where PFAS are found and how they move through the environment; current regulations for PFAS in drinking water and surface water; the DNR’s environmental sampling efforts; and how to find sampling results and information about PFAS sampling in fish and wildlife. The DNR appreciates opportunities to connect with Tribal Nations.

Headline News

DNR Publishes Annual Drinking Water Report

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) published its 2023 Annual Drinking Water Report in July, showing that more than 99% of the public water systems in Wisconsin met all water quality standards for contaminants. The 2023 report summarizes compliance with the drinking water requirements and highlights statewide efforts to help public water systems provide a safe and sustainable supply of drinking water. This impressive scorecard is possible because of the joint efforts between public water system owners and operators, the DNR and many partners.

More information about the work the DNR is doing to provide safe drinking water is available on the DNR’s Drinking Water webpage, including information about this year’s milestone celebration – 50 years of the Safe Drinking Water Act!

Partners Collaborate to Update the St. Louis River Estuary Manoomin Restoration and Stewardship Plan

The St. Louis River Estuary Manoomin Restoration and Stewardship Plan was updated this spring as part of the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC) program. Restoring healthy, harvestable stands of Manoomin (Ojibwe name for wild rice) to the St. Louis River Estuary will help address loss of fish and wildlife habitat in the AOC and return a vital cultural resource to the Anishinaabe people.

The 2024 Manoomin Plan builds upon the many partnerships that were established in earlier restoration efforts and incorporates additional culturally significant indicators from indigenous perspectives to gauge restoration progress. The update addresses emerging challenges to Manoomin restoration in the St. Louis River Estuary, namely enhancing resiliency in the face of growing threats from climate change. It also establishes a revised set of indicators of restoration progress, guides restoration and stewardship actions, defines a set of data-driven thresholds to inform management decisions and identifies important information needs associated with Manoomin restoration in the St. Louis River Estuary. Funding support for this plan was provided by U.S. EPA through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The St. Louis River Estuary Manoomin Restoration and Stewardship Plan is available on the DNR’s St. Louis River AOC webpage under the "Project" tab.

Public Engagement Helps Shape Restoration Projects in The Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern

Public meetings were held this quarter to share information about upcoming projects to enhance wildlife habitats and recreational opportunities at Havenwoods State Forest and move the swimming area at South Shore Beach – both projects are part of the Milwaukee Estuary AOC. The gatherings offered opportunities for community members to learn more about the work underway to improve Milwaukee’s waterways, ask questions, share ideas and get involved in shaping the future of these vital resources.

Many projects are underway or in planning stages to clean up pollution, improve public health and safety, restore fish and wildlife habitats and enhance economic and recreational opportunities in the Milwaukee Estuary AOC. The DNR is one of over 20 groups working together as the Waterway Restoration Partnership to heal the Milwaukee Estuary AOC and remove it from the list of most polluted sites on the Great Lakes. To learn more, visit the Waterway Restoration Partnership website.

Celebrating Two Years of the Wonderful Waters of Wisconsin

In 2022, the DNR launched the first statewide water resources protection initiative, the Wonderful Waters of Wisconsin. This groundbreaking effort seeks to strike a balance between protecting high-quality water resources and restoring those impacted by pollution. The Healthy Watersheds, High-Quality Waters Action Plan details a series of actions and subsequent strategies for success that the DNR and a wide range of partners can use to achieve the goal of keeping Wisconsin’s priority healthy watersheds and high-quality waters at or better than their current conditions through 2030. The Year 2 - Wonderful Waters of Wisconsin Progress Report details the steps made toward this collective goal, summarizes resources that were developed to support water resources protection and puts a spotlight on partner success stories. Partners who wish to stay informed about the Wonderful Waters of Wisconsin initiative and receive future progress reports can subscribe to the Healthy Watersheds, High-Quality Water email list.

Resources And Website Spotlight

DNR Announces New Online Tool for Analyzing Water Quality on Lakes and Streams

In August, the DNR announced the release of the Wisconsin Water Explorer, a web-based tool that can help Wisconsin residents address concerns about the quality of water in their local lakes or rivers. Answering water quality questions requires sophisticated computer software and extensive datasets. The Wisconsin Water Explorer tool makes scientific data analysis accessible to the public by automating the process of finding and analyzing data. The tool provides insights into current conditions and trends through graphs, maps and automated reports.

The Wisconsin Water Explorer tool also consolidates several water quality tools into one platform. For example, Citizen Lake Monitoring Network volunteers can now access and share automated annual reports summarizing data from their respective lakes. An updated version of the Wisconsin Lake Modeling Suite was integrated into the tool to help non-technicians analyze whether a lake adheres to water quality standards, identify likely sources of pollution and determine the necessary level of improvement for restoration.

PFAS Contamination in Private Wells Webpage Launched

Recently, the Office of Emerging Contaminants collaborated with the Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater on a new webpage to help private well owners with information specific to PFAS in private wells. The PFAS Contamination in Private Wells page describes the voluntary actions that private well owners can take to understand if their well water contains PFAS and resources that may be available if the well is found to contain PFAS.

Funding Opportunities

DNR Announces Two Grants for Eligible Public Water Systems

The Underserved Drinking Water System Grant Program will help other-than-municipal community and some non-transient non-community public water systems, such as non-profit daycares and schools, with funding to address active violations and action level exceedances in their water. This is the second grant program to reach these two types of systems, which have historically been unable to received financial assistance in Wisconsin.  

The Lead Service Line Replacement Community Outreach Grant will provide municipal community public water systems with the funds to conduct community outreach efforts in support of ongoing or upcoming lead service line replacement projects. Lead exposure is dangerous to all people, particularly to children and developing fetuses – it’s critical for municipalities to replace lead service lines in their entirety, on the private and public side, to minimize the risk for lead exposure through drinking water. Effective community outreach is vital to the success of lead service line replacement. This grant will provide communities with funding to coordinate crucial outreach efforts. Applications are due by April 30, 2025.

Annual Awards And Awareness Campaigns

Staff Provides Free Nitrate Well Water Screening at Farm Technology Days

A Wisconsin DNR representative speaks with an attendee at the DNR booth during the 2024 Farm Technology Days event. — Wisconsin DNR staff at Farm Technology Days

In August, the DNR’s Drinking Water and Groundwater Program interacted with hundreds of families at Farm Technology Days, which was held in Chippewa Falls. During this event, staff answered questions about private wells and conducted free well water screenings for nitrate for any private well owner who provided a water sample. Though the event was cut short by inclement weather on the third day, staff screened over 65 water samples. This is the fourth year the DNR has offered this free service at Farm Technology Days. Staff are planning to attend next year’s Farm Technology Days in Outagamie County and will again offer free screening for nitrate in private well water.

Results of Photo Contest and Writing Project Featured in New Wisconsin's Great Waters Calendar

Cover of the 2024-2025 Wisconsin's Great Water calendar. Features an image of a man with arms raised on a lakeshore as the water crashes the shore. — Cover of the 2024-2025 Wisconsin's Great Waters calendar

Winning entries from the annual Wisconsin’s Great Waters Photo Contest are featured in the Wisconsin's Great Waters 2024-2025 Calendar, published by the DNR's Office of Great Waters. Also included in the calendar are poems and short stories from the Great Waters Writing Project – each sharing how people connect with and value our Great Waters. The new calendar is now available and can be viewed online on the DNR's Great Waters 2024 Photo Contest and Writing Project webpage.

We appreciate all the contributions from our participating photographers and writers who inspire stewardship of these vast yet vulnerable resources.

The Office of Great Waters is now accepting photos and writings for next year's contest. Learn more on the DNR's webpage for the Wisconsin’s Great Waters Annual Photo Contest and Writing Project.

To receive a copy of the new calendar, contact Susan Tesarik at Susan.Tesarik@wisconsin.gov or 608-977-2416. Also reach out to Susan with any questions about the Great Waters Photo Contest and Writing Project.