Conscious Choice: A Well is a Hole in the Ground!

July 1995

A Well is a Hole in the Ground!

by Kelly J. Warren

Editor’s note: Although the following article was written for Wisconsin residents it contains useful general information about groundwater quality.

How deep is your well? Only about half of Wisconsinites can answer that question. A recent survey shows that many people feel that groundwater problems are too complex. And due to that complexity, most residents think someone, somewhere must be taking care of it — that an unseen force must prevail.

It’s true, Wisconsin places considerable emphasis on groundwater protection and education, but contamination threats are so widespread that the state agencies involved with groundwater quality often are called in only after contamination has occurred. Their number includes a veritable army of experts: University of Wisconsin-Extension (public outreach programs); Department of Natural Resources (cost-share programs); Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (agricultural pesticides); Department of Transportation (road salt); Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relation (septic systems); and Central Wisconsin Groundwater Center (education for citizens and government officials).

Each of these agencies complies with the 1984 Groundwater Standards Law, which lays out a specific role for each group. The Department of Natural Resources acts as the overall water-quality agency for the state. There’s also a Groundwater Coordinating Council, a multi-agency group, to help coordinate the participating agencies and to avoid duplication of efforts.

Why the fuss?
While Milwaukee draws its drinking water from Lake Michigan, Wisconsin is one of the states with the greatest proportion of residents who depend on groundwater for drinking water (70%). Nearly 50% of the population of the U.S., including 95% of rural residents, relies on groundwater as a sole source of water. San Antonio, Texas, with 1.2 million residents, claims to be the largest city that depends on groundwater alone for domestic water use.

The problem? Any product, consumed in large enough quantities and soluble in water, is capable of moving into the groundwater. The potential threats, both natural and human produced, come from rural and urban sources: hazardous waste leachate from old landfills; pesticides; septic systems; radon; arsenic; road salt; leaky underground gasoline and fuel oil storage tanks; uncapped abandoned wells; and nitrates from fertilizers and animal manure.

Currently, about 10% of all private wells in Wisconsin exceed the state’s enforcement standards for nitrates (10 ppm — meaning, 10 parts nitrate to 1 million parts water). And according to Fred Madison, soil scientist at the University of Wisconsin, a well drilled today in Dane County has a 50% chance of being contaminated with Atrazine, a broad-spectrum herbicide.

It’s found underground
The idea of groundwater conjures up images of underground lakes and rivers. In fact, groundwater flows very differently than does surface water. Groundwater can move only a fraction of an inch to a few feet per day through zones called aquifers. Aquifers act like giant filters, made up of sand, gravel and rock. The rate at which groundwater travels depends on the medium through which it moves. Aquifers can cover a few miles or spread out over hundreds of thousands of square miles. There are 20 major aquifers in the U.S., each with its own unique geologic characteristics. Since groundwater moves so slowly, any contaminants that filter down also move along at a slow rate, creating a pollution plume. Hydrogeologists have learned to track groundwater pollution plumes using geology maps and monitoring wells.

The groundwater supply is recharged by precipitation that falls on the land. Wisconsin receives an average 32 inches/year of precipitation: 3.0 inches run into storm drains, streams, lakes and rivers; 22.0 inches leave the earth via evaporation and transpiration; and 7.0 inches become groundwater. Groundwater is brought up to the surface by drilling a hole into an aquifer and pumping the water out. Private well water users (nearly every rural resident) pump their water straight out of the ground — untreated and untested, while the groundwater that urban residents receive goes through a water treatment system. Rural residents are responsible for testing their own well water for potential contaminants.

The City of Madison operates 23 municipal wells that pump out 30 million gallons of groundwater per day to nearly 200,00 Madison residents, according to Dennis Cawley, Senior Civil Engineer at Madison’s Water Utility. The wells penetrate the aquifer to an average 800 feet of Cambian sandstone bedrock. Once extracted, the water receives minimal treatment; chlorine and fluoride are added before the flow is directed to homes and businesses. Urban residents on city water must put their trust in state and federal water quality regulations. (The municipal wells in Madison show nitrate levels around 3 ppm, well below the enforcement standard). Yet, it’s clear that trust is not shared by all, as is evidenced by the 2 billion-dollar a year bottled water industry.

Land use and groundwater quality — the human connection
When surface water is polluted, an offensive odor, discolored water, or dead animal often alerts us that something has gone awry. But with groundwater out of sight, we don’t detect the pollution until the damage is done. This disassociation makes it more difficult for an individual to see the relationship between his/her land-use practices and groundwater quality. Jeff Postle, groundwater specialist at the Department of Agriculture,Trade and Consumer Protection, says that during the ten years he’s been working with landowners, he has learned that consumers still don’t know where there water comes from. "People seem to be under the impression that the water in their well comes from hundreds of miles away," says Postle. "Once people learn that the water in their well originates relatively close to that well, with precipitation falling on that land surface, they might feel more empowered to protect their water quality."

Chris Mechenech, groundwater education specialist at the Central Wisconsin Groundwater Center in Stevens Point, points up similar misunderstandings with regard to the sources of well water. During the annual Drinking Water Education program, which reaches about 1000 people each year, Mechenech takes the opportunity to dispel groundwater misconceptions. She demonstrates her message, especially to those who live in northern Wisconsin where the wells are very shallow, by asking participants to stand by their well, do a 360 degree circle, and look around — that’s where their water comes from. "In some cases," Mechenech says, "we’re only talking about a few hundred feet in diameter." "So what they do and what their neighbors do is what makes the difference in the quality of their drinking water."

Cleanup efforts
It’s becoming more and more apparent that treating contaminated groundwater is difficult and expensive; and such treatment does not necessarily improve the safety of drinking water. Fred Madison understands that stopping the contamination at the source begins with land-use education. Madison predicts that future education efforts will "focus almost totally on land-use activity in trying to control the contaminants before they ever get into the saturated zone (of the soil)." He continues, "We simply are not having any success at all in cleaning up contaminated aquifers, particularly ones that are contaminated with organics such as petroleum products, cleaning solvents, or pesticides." With 10% of all private wells in Wisconsin exceeding enforcement standards for nitrates, source reduction appears to be the key. Exceptional cases have emerged in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties, where aggressive farming practices have produced nitrate levels as high as 20 ppm, or double the enforcement standard. Those drinking the water in these counties have experienced health problems, and reportedly, some cows have aborted their calves. Nitrate sources in these counties include: excessive application of fertilizer and manure on fields and lawns, failing septic systems, old landfill leachate, and natural plant decomposition. Landowners with known excessive contamination receive a letter from the state telling household members not to drink or cook with the water. Upon notification, the landowner faces four options. The most drastic measure involves drilling a new, deeper well. Yet going deeper is only a band-aid approach. Other alternatives include installing water treatment devices at the tap or at incoming water lines, purchasing bottled water, or choosing to do nothing. If the owner decides to act, the Department of Natural Resources will share 60% of the costs, through the Well Compensation Program, but only if contaminants exceed the states’ enforcement standards. For contaminants at or below the enforcement standards, the owner must go it alone.

Three years ago, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture banned the herbicide Atrazine in specified areas throughout the state. An inexpensive, effective, and widely used herbicide, Atrazine made its way into the groundwater intact. Even with application of Atrazine eliminated, however, Madison doesn’t believe that herbicide concentrations will decrease significantly. The lower Wisconsin River valley, where a high percentage of wells are contaminated with Atrazine, has groundwater moving at 1 to 1-1/2 feet per day and will take about 30 years for the contamination to move across the valley.

Local activism — or lack thereof
Interestingly enough, Dane County has a high percentage of private wells which exceed the enforcement levels for Atrazine. It also has the highest percentage of land under the Atrazine ban. But compared to citizens of other counties with well contamination, Dane County well-owners seem to be less vocal on receipt of their "don’t drink the water" letter.

One of the most active environmental citizens’ groups in Wisconsin is the Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger. The group organized in 1990 when Department of Defense officials at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo announced that a plume of cancer-causing agents had moved off-site and contaminated four private wells. Well-water tests showed high levels of carbon tetrachloride and chloroform — levels so high that the Department of Health recommended that householders use only bottled water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. The Army suspects that their Propellent Burning grounds had been contaminating the wells for 15 years.

Ongoing "badgering" gained national recognition for residents, which prompted intensive groundwater cleanup efforts. Currently, the Department of Defense (operators of the ammunition plant) has installed groundwater treatment equipment that extracts groundwater and releases the volatile organic compounds&endash;such as carbon tetrachloride&endash;into the atmosphere. The "cleaned" water is then dumped into the Wisconsin River, four miles from the plant.

Today, this citizen’s group continues its campaign in pursuit of its goals: to clean up groundwater contamination caused by the plant; to prevent open burning and incineration of hazardous waste; and to convert the plant to peaceful purposes.

Consider this...
There is a direct link between everyday land-use activities and groundwater quality, in both urban and rural settings. Items we toss in the trash or spray on the lawn or field will eventually end up in someone’s drinking water supply.

Question the presence of contaminants in your drinking water, regardless of the proclaimed "health levels." Consider the synergistic effects of pesticides on food and in water, and pollutants in the air. Remember that groundwater contaminants are not the only toxins to which we are exposed on a daily basis. Ask yourself, how will additional exposure, in either long-term small doses or short-term large doses, ultimately effect your health? Then evaluate the following: Where does your drinking water come from? What are the threats to your drinking water quality? How do you use the land (lawn, field, sink drains, etc.) around you? And is bottled water any safer than tap or well water? Consider the source of bottled water.

If you question the quality or safety of your well water, contact the State Laboratory of Hygiene to test for nitrates, Atrazine and bacteria. Write to the State Laboratory of Hygiene, 456 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706 or call 608-262-1293.

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