DNR Weekly News Update, October 22, 2013
Water use report available online; 2012 drought spurs increased pumping
MADISON – A report detailing the amount of groundwater and surface water pumped by Wisconsin’s largest water users is now available online for 2012 and reflects increased usage due in large part to the 2012 drought, state water officials say.
Overall, the amount of water pumped from high capacity surface and groundwater withdrawals totaled 2.258 trillion gallons in 2012, up 4.6 percent from 2011, according to Bob Smail, the Department of Natural Resources water supply specialist who created the report.
That increase includes a 36.4 percent increase in the amount of groundwater pumped from Wisconsin aquifers, with agricultural irrigation surpassing municipal withdrawals as the largest withdrawer of groundwater in 2012, the report shows.
Under state law, any wells or surface water intakes on a property with the capacity to withdraw at least 100,000 gallons per day or 70 gallons per minute are required to report their usage annually. For 2012, there were 14,184 registered high capacity withdrawal sources in the state -- 13,191 wells and 995 surface water sources.
Major changes in water use from the 2011 reporting year are:
- Power production withdrawals declined in 2012 mostly due to decreased withdrawals at several large coal-fired plants.
- Withdrawals for irrigation increased in 2012 due to the prolonged drought, with agricultural irrigation withdrawals up 83 percent and golf course irrigation withdrawals up 87 percent.
- Cranberry production withdrawals were up significantly in 2012 due to the record heat in early spring, increased irrigation demand during summer and low reservoir levels in autumn.
- Agricultural irrigation surpassed municipal withdrawals as the largest withdrawer of groundwater in 2012.
- Municipal public water withdrawals were up 2.6 percent. This increase was somewhat reduced by conservation strategies and ordinances implemented by municipalities.
- Non-metallic mining withdrawals were down 4 percent, mostly because lowered water tables decreased the need for quarry pit dewatering.
Smail says the quality of reports provided by water supply system owners and operators has improved significantly from when the program began several years ago. “The high quality of data allows us to understand how withdrawals vary along with changes in weather and economic demand,” he says.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Smail, 608-267-4581; Eric Ebersberger, 608-266-1722
Green your Halloween!
MADISON – Halloween revelers can celebrate a “green” Halloween this year while reducing their impact on the environment and saving money, says Elisabeth Olson, a natural resources educator with the Department of Natural Resources.
"Green your Halloween and save money and the environment," Olson says. "These tips can help you do both and make for a more creative and family-friendly event.”
Olson recommends these tips to reduce, reuse and recycle this Halloween:
- Get creative with decorations. Use natural Halloween decorations like gourds, pumpkins and cornstalks. Turn recycled paper into window decorations like spiders, pumpkins or witches’ hats. Paint grocery bags into Halloween white for ghostly effects, or make a graveyard scene with paper tombstones and spooky trees. After Halloween, send your decorations on for another round of recycling.
- DIY or buy thrift-store costumes. Test your creativity this year and create a costume from items from around the house. Or find inexpensive costumes and supplies from thrift stores or yard sales. Some parents organize costume trades, where kids choose from available, reused costumes. Kids done with this year’s disguise can pass the favor on and donate their old costumes for someone else to enjoy.
- Trick-or-treat with a reusable bag. Carry reusable bags or containers that don’t need to be thrown out after use. Cloth or canvas bags -- or even pillowcases -- are terrific eco-friendly choices to paper, plastic bags or molded plastic jack-o-lanterns.
- Stay local and walk instead of drive. Stick close to home this Halloween and walk to help reduce air pollution and fuel use. It's a great way to connect with the neighbors and get some exercise as well.
- After Halloween, compost that jack-o-lantern. If you don’t already compost, Halloween is a great time to start. Add post-Halloween jack-o-lanterns to the compost bin, along with fallen leaves, food scraps and other organic yard and household waste. See the home composting page of the DNR website for more tips on how to begin composting.
Oct. 31 online chat set for discussing whooping cranes
Eleven of 15 crane species worldwide are endangered, and Wisconsin is playing a critical role in efforts to restore whooping cranes. Join a live online chat Oct. 31 at noon to get the latest updates on the effort’s progress, research, and the ongoing fall migration of cranes.
The chat features Davin Lopez, the Department of Natural Resources whooping crane coordinator and partners including Joan Garland, outreach coordinator for the International Crane Foundation, and Heather Ray, the associate director of development for Operation Migration.
To participate, visit the DNR home page, dnr.wi.gov, and look for the box on the right to enter the chat, or search the phrase "ask the experts.” Or join the conversation on DNR’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WIDNR, by clicking the “Cover it Live Chat” box on the top of the page.