U.S. Water News Online
MADISON, Wis. -- The rapid growth of Dane County's suburban communities has left officials looking at how to find enough water to support the development.
Currently, there's no regional management plan for water and while there isn't a shortage in the area yet, officials say there could be local stresses on what is now a very reliable source of drinking water as the population grows by 153,000 people to nearly 580,000 in 2030.
"You can't put 500,000 people in this county without having some impact on the water system," said Michael King, division administrator for Dane County's Community Analysis and Planning Division. "It's a question of managing those impacts."
In recent studies of water supply issues statewide, Dane County is listed as one of a handful of areas in the state where rapid growth is having a discernible impact on the deep aquifer, which is what the community depends on for drinking water, and on streams and other surface waters that are also fed by groundwater.
"All the water is being used," said Randy Hunt, a hydrogeologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who has extensively studied the effect on surface waters. "Even if we're not using it all, all of the other natural features such as wetlands and streams are."
The surface waters of Dane County's lakes and the aquifer are intimately connected, and for drinking water, all municipalities in Dane County rely upon a deep sandstone formation known as the Mount Simon aquifer, which has millions of gallons of fresh water stored in cracks and fractures in the sandstone.
There are 60 million gallons taken from the aquifer each day -- about 140 gallons per person.
King says the growth of the suburbs around Madison will only heighten the problem.
By 2030, he said, the county's urban service area -- the area local governments serve with municipal sewer and water -- will have grown from 100 square miles to 140 square miles.
Many communities have plans to build numerous wells in the next five to 10 years, but that growth may heighten problems because rooftops, parking lots and streets block the flow of rainwater needed to recharge the aquifer.
Ken Bradbury, a hydrogeologist with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, said the flow of increasing amounts of lake water into the aquifer also could have implications for water quality in the future.
Many officials say more coordination is necessary between municipalities using the aquifer. With the loss of the Regional Planning Commission, no government body has stepped up to help manage and coordinate water use at a regional level, according to local water officials.
"That's probably a coming thing," King said. "And that's appropriate. There is just so much growth."
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