Environmental Management
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Water Quality Standards and Classifications
Water quality standards are important because they help water quality managers protect and restore the quality of Wisconsin's waters. Our water quality may be impacted by many different sources and types of pollution. Under the Clean Water Act,…
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Watershed Restoration & Protection Viewer
In order to keep DNR servers up to date, DNR will be patching the GIS servers to the latest service level on the morning of Sunday, April 27. During this update, users may see unexpected issues with DNR’s web map viewers. We apologize in advance for…
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Areawide Water Quality Management Plan (AWQMP) Program
Water quality planning in Wisconsin occurs on many levels in many agencies. Each plan begins with monitoring to evaluate the health of Wisconsin's waters. Biologists and trained volunteers collect monitoring data on representative segments on rivers…
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Outstanding and Exceptional Resource Waters
Wisconsin has designated many of the state's highest quality waters as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORWs) or Exceptional Resource Waters (ERWs). Waters designated as ORW or ERW are surface waters that provide outstanding recreational opportunities,…
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Wisconsin’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy
Wisconsin’s approach to nutrient loss reduction relies on a combination of regulatory programs and conservation efforts at the local, state and federal levels. These efforts target both point sources (e.g., wastewater treatment facilities) and…
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Water Quality Modeling Tools
Water quality modeling tools can be used to better understand and evaluate the impacts of management decisions on Wisconsin's surface waters. Each model was developed for a specific purpose and requires an understanding of the inputs, outputs and…
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Wisconsin’s Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology (WisCALM)
Every two years, Sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the Clean Water Act require states to publish a list of all waters not meeting water quality standards and an overall report on surface water quality status of all waters in the state. To assess surface…
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Antidegradation
The antidegradation rule is implemented in Chapter NR 207 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. The purpose of the rule is to address new or increased discharges to surface waters (river, lakes, drainage ways, wetlands, etc.). The way in which these…
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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…