A large plume of toxic chemicals produced by a plant that manufactures firefighting foam has seeped through groundwater to Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, scientists said Tuesday.
Tag: water
What should I do about PFAS in my water?
A consumer guide for dealing with harmful PFAS being detected nationwide, including Wisconsin.
Testing the waters: How groups monitor toxic algae in the absence of state testing
Toxic blue-green algae can sicken people and animals. Few states have routine testing programs to check for algae, so some local and volunteer groups are stepping in to fill that gap.
As rains intensify, sewage surges into Wisconsin waters
Climate change is bringing heavier rains, making it tougher to keep untreated sewage and stormwater out of the Great Lakes.
Most nitrate, coliform in Kewaunee County wells tied to animal waste
The latest findings from a study of drinking water wells and their surroundings finds manure from cows that is stored or spread on farm fields poses the highest risk for certain contaminants.
Wisconsin misses chances to cut risk of lead exposure in drinking water
Funding for childhood lead poisoning prevention is down in Wisconsin, and proposals to better protect children from lead in drinking water have stalled in the Legislature.
Milwaukee takes action to reduce lead in water; critics say it is not enough
The city of Milwaukee, with more than 70,000 lead service lines, has taken several steps in the past year to lower residents’ exposure to lead in drinking water, but activists say the city has not done enough.
Wisconsin DNR fails to update lead testing guidance in wake of Flint crisis
Nine months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warned against flushing water systems before testing for lead, the state Department of Natural Resources has not yet passed that advice on to public water systems in Wisconsin.
‘Strict’ pesticide rules fail to erase threat to Wisconsin’s drinking water
A 2007 survey of private drinking water wells found 1 out of 3 had pesticides or their breakdown chemicals; farm groups oppose push for tougher atrazine rules.
Wisconsin must do more to protect residents from lead in drinking water, DNR and Milwaukee leaders agree
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett acknowledges adding anti-corrosive chemicals, the main strategy to prevent lead in drinking water, is a “Band-Aid” approach.
Human waste pollutes some Wisconsin drinking water
Failing septic systems, leaking public sewer pipes and landspreading of septic waste can introduce dangerous pathogens into both rural and urban water systems. Experts say Wisconsin needs tougher laws to protect Wisconsin drinking water from contamination by sewage and septic waste.
Bacteria in state’s drinking water is ‘public health crisis’
Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents are at risk of illness from waterborne pathogens in private and public drinking water supplies. Contamination by pathogens is of special concern because unlike pollution by metals or chemicals, pathogens can sicken people after just a single exposure.