Environmental Protection
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Water Quality Criteria
The Clean Water Act requires states to adopt water quality standards to protect aquatic life, wildlife and recreation. Water quality standards consist of three components: antidegradation, designated uses and water quality criteria. Water quality…
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Triennial Standards Review
Every three years, the DNR reviews Wisconsin's water quality standards or related guidance to determine which standards need development or revision, as required by the federal Clean Water Act. This comprehensive evaluation, called the…
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Help and Tips for SWIMS
To meet Department development standards, the SWIMS user interface has undergone a redesign. Along with meeting these development standards, the additional goals of this redesign are to update SWIMS with a modern look, create a standardize layout,…
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Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS) Database
Subscribe for updates about the SWIMS system The Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS) is a DNR system that holds chemistry (water, sediment, fish tissue) data, physical data, biological (macroinvertebrate, aquatic invasives…
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Water Quality Standards Rule Updates
The DNR is conducting rulemaking on several topics related to surface water quality standards, outlined below.
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Pollutant Load Ratio Estimation Tool (PRESTO)
The Pollutant Load Ratio Estimation Tool (PRESTO) is a statewide GIS-based tool that compares the average annual phosphorus loads originating from point and nonpoint sources within a watershed. The comparison provides a screening tool for…
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Office of Great Waters Staff Contacts
Staff in the DNR’s Office of Great Waters collaborate with federal, state and local agencies; tribes; businesses; citizen-led organizations and community members to protect and improve the environmental quality of the Great Lakes and Mississippi…
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Wisconsin's Great Lakes Strategy
The Great Lakes contain 20% of the world's available fresh surface water supply. Because of that, the Great Lakes are critical to the health and welfare of all the Great Lakes states. Effective management of both wetland and water quantity and…
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Sheboygan River Area of Concern
About About the Sheboygan River AOC In 1987, the Sheboygan River was designated as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) – areas that are severely degraded and fail to support aquatic life beneficial for human use (like fish and…
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Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) [exit DNR] is a federal program that provides unprecedented funding for protection and restoration efforts on the five Great Lakes. The GLRI is guided by an action plan with detailed performance goals…