Updated water conditions need comments from public

More than 80 percent of Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers recently assessed, are healthy, continuing a trend of improved surface water quality across the state. Every two years, Sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) 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.

Although the majority of waterbodies are in good con- dition and have been placed on the Healthy Waters List, 92 new waterbodies or segments are now classified as impaired.

“While these waters are labeled ‘impaired,’ the majority are still usable, just follow local water quality alerts and posted signs,” said Ashley Beranek, DNR.

There are now 115 new pollutant listings proposed; a waterbody can have multiple pollutant listings and some of the new listings are on waters already identified as impaired. The majority of new pollutant listings are for phosphorus and bacteria. This is the first assessment cycle to use the new E. coli bacteria criteria recently approved by the Wisconsin legislature.

Of the 115 new listings, 11 will be placed directly on the Restoration Waters List, because they are covered by an existing restoration plan in the form of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). The listings are added to the Milwaukee River Basin TMDL, Upper Fox-Wolf Basins TMDL and Wisconsin River Basin TMDL.

Public comments regarding the new listings and TMDL additions, are requested. Provide written comments by Oct. 1 to: Department of Natural Resources, c/o Ashley Beranek, Water Quality, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.

The water condition lists are submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every even-numbered year, in accordance with the Clean Water Act. The department follows standard procedures to assess waterbodies against water quality standards.