TOWN OF OASIS, Wis. -- As the number of high-capacity wells used for agriculture grows in Wisconsin, the state no longer can take water for granted, despite being bordered on three sides by Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River and cross-hatched with innumerable rivers, streams and lakes.
"We're all pretty sick of what's going on here," said Cris Van Houten, 73.
Van Houten built his house on Huron Lake in Wisconsin's central sands region. He could look out from his deck at the blue water and scuba dive in the shallows. But less than 10 years later, he and his neighbors are watching their beloved lake dry up. The shoreline has receded at least 20 feet, leaving Van Houten with a new beach he never wanted, his dock high and dry, and scuba diving impossible.
Like other lake property owners, Van Houten blames the high-capacity water wells serving agriculture, particularly potato farmers.
Farmers argue that they're just trying to make a living and that there's no evidence the wells are depleting surface water.
"We need to use the water to produce the food (healthy vegetables) to feed the world," Tamas Houlihan, executive director of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, said in a statement. "There's nothing more important."
So far, Republicans who control state government have sided with agriculture. Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel issued a legal opinion last year saying that the Department of Natural Resources lacks the authority to impose conditions on high-capacity wells based on their combined effect on state waters. Now the Legislature is on the verge of exempting well repairs, reconstruction and ownership transfers from the department's oversight.
High-capacity wells, capable of pumping at least 70 gallons of water per minute from the ground, have been part of Wisconsin's landscape since the mid-1940s. They began proliferating sharply in the 1990s as farmers looked to maximize yields and municipalities searched for water sources. In 1990, fewer than 6,000 wells operated in the state; today the state has 12,700.
Lake-property owners have complained since the mid-2000s that the wells are draining central sands lakes and streams.
While farmers say no one has proven the wells are draining surface waters, conservationists point to a study by the Department of Natural Resources, the University of Wisconsin-Extension and the U.S. Geological Survey on well effects on the Little Plover River in the central sands last year. The review found the river is closely connected to the groundwater system in the area, making it vulnerable to the effects of pumping.
Republicans are moving a bill through the Legislature that would essentially remove Department of Natural Resources checks on permit adherence when wells are repaired, rebuilt or transferred.
The Senate has already passed the bill, and the Assembly is scheduled to vote Tuesday. A public hearing drew scores of people from each side to the state Capitol.
"I wouldn't recommend buying lake property up here to anybody," said 80-year-old Dale Brunner, who lives on Beans Lake in Wautoma. He said he has watched the lake recede 30 feet since the early 2000s; last summer he could circle his dock with his riding lawnmower, he said.
A Section on 04/30/2017