Wisconsin presents its draft impaired waters list for 2008 to the public for comment

MADISON – The draft 2008 list of Wisconsin lakes and rivers with documented pollution problems is available for public comment beginning today, Feb. 19, 2008. To comply with the Clean Water Act, the Department of Natural Resources must submit the list to the federal government.

The draft 2008 list and other associated information can be found on the Identifying and Restoring Wisconsin's Impaired Waters page of the DNR Web site.

Public comments will be accepted through March 19, 2008, and can be mailed to the Wisconsin DNR Impaired Waters Program - WT/3, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, or e-mailed to DNRImpairedWaters@wisconsin.gov.

“This list reflects the best information available to us at this time,” says Bob Masnado, who leads the Department’s Water Evaluation Section. “We’ll use it to set priorities for our work in restoring lakes and rivers. We encourage you to read the list and the methods we used to evaluate our waters, and give us your feedback in writing.”

The federal Clean Water Act requires states to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a list of impaired waters every two years that identifies the reason(s) why the lake or river segment is not supporting a quality fish community, swimming or many other recreational uses. The DNR is required to identify those pollutants causing water quality problems and their sources and then set the maximum amount allowed to still support a healthy water body.

Wisconsin’s draft 2008 list notes a change in status for an additional 50 lakes and river segments out of the state’s 15,081 lakes and 42,000 miles of perennially flowing rivers, according to Masnado.

Scuppernong River in Waukesha County is proposed to be removed from the list because of improved water quality. DNR removed an earthen dam in 1993 and the agency’s subsequent stream habitat restoration work has brought trout back to the area.

Thirty-five waters will be added to the list for the first time, largely reflecting increased beach monitoring and identification of waters with degraded water quality caused by sediment and phosphorus pollution.

Airborne mercury from power plants and other sources remain the most common pollutant; this is why Gov. Jim Doyle has pledged to reduce mercury by 90 percent in Wisconsin and has directed DNR to develop rules to achieve that goal.

“Sedimentation,” is the second most common pollutant. It occurs when soil carried in runoff from farms, construction sites and urban surface areas decreases water quality, covers fish spawning beds and causes other problems.

The third most common pollutant is excessive levels of phosphorus and other nutrients in the water. Such pollution can result from natural causes, or from human activity such as fertilizing fields or lawns, and it can cause nuisance algal blooms.

Accordingly, in the most recent budget, Governor Doyle increased bonding to give the state increased resources to address critical run-off problems.

Waters added for the first time largely reflect increased beach monitoring

DNR proposes adding two dozen beaches to the list, including nine beaches on the Madison chain of lakes, based on a trend of elevated bacteria levels in monitoring results from 2005, 2006 and 2007.

“Adding these beaches to the 2008 list is merely a reflection of how increased monitoring has helped document what’s probably been a historical bacteria problem at these beaches,” Masnado says. He notes local and state officials have already taken action to address this and other water quality concerns. Just last week, Dane County, the City of Madison, and DNR announced the Yahara Clean initiative to address the water quality of the Madison Lakes.

Wisconsin was the first state to meet federal requirements for regularly monitoring coastal beaches for bacteria. Since 2003, state and local governments in Wisconsin have been regularly testing about 115 public beaches on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior for bacteria as part of the federal BEACH Act of 2000.

Another group of additions to the impaired water list reflects efforts by the DNR and local leaders to lay the foundation for developing a management plan to address degraded water quality in Lower Fox River basin waters. Waters there are impaired by soil and phosphorus pollution.

New fish data spurs changes to listings for waters previously identified as impaired

New fish contaminant data is reflected in three major changes and more than a dozen minor changes to the list.

More than a dozen other waters are proposed to have mercury or PCBs removed from the list as a pollutant because of changes in how DNR determines which waters are on the impaired waters list and how it issues consumption advice, not necessarily that contaminant levels in the fish have decreased, Masnado says. Fish from these waters still carry the general statewide consumption advice.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Masnado (608) 267-7662