Municipalities

Water use registration

Subscribe to receive email updates about the Great Lakes Compact or Water Use Program. To withdraw or a withdrawal means the taking of water from surface water or groundwater including springs, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and the Great Lakes.…

Water use data and maps

Use the tools below to search for high capacity wells and surface water withdrawal sources. You can also see the amount of water withdrawn by month and year.

Wisconsin water withdrawals

Every year, all registered high capacity property owners are required to submit monthly water use (withdrawal) totals to the DNR. Statewide, there are over 14,000 registered high capacity withdrawal sources including over 13,000 groundwater and 1,…

Great Lakes Compact and diversions

The Great Lakes Compact is a formal agreement between the Great Lakes states which details how the states will work together to manage and protect the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. A parallel agreement (the Sustainable Water Resources…

Aquatic Communities

Wisconsin has a large and diverse aquatic resource that supports numerous species, communities, ecological processes and human uses. In addition, many terrestrial species and processes are dependent on neighboring aquatic systems. The aquatic…

Wisconsin’s Riverine and Lake Natural Communities

Protecting and preserving riverine and lake natural communities are important to the environment and economy of Wisconsin. New scientific findings have identified distinct "natural communities" into which different types of streams, rivers and lakes…

Managing Wisconsin’s Rivers

Under state and federal law, the DNR conducts water planning and master planning for natural areas and forests, implements regulations and secures special designations to protect, maintain or restore river resources. Designation of Wild Rivers…

River Facts and Resources

Wisconsin has more than 15,000 lakes and 84,000 miles of rivers and streams. Every year, watershed planning begins across the state with monitoring to evaluate the health of Wisconsin's waters. Biologists and trained volunteers collect monitoring…

Karner Blue Butterfly

Citizens can support the conservation of the Karner blue and its habitat in many ways. You can help recover and protect this species through volunteering or restoring habitats on your own property.

High potential range in Wisconsin