Award-winning hydrogeologist to speak on threats to county drinking water

Dr. Maureen Muldoon, award-winning associate professor of hydrogeology at UW-Oshkosh has a homecoming of sorts whenever she returns to Door County. The county was central to her 1999 doctoral thesis, a study of the "hydrogeologic characterization of Silurian dolomite limestone of Door County." She is a frequent professional visitor.

This time, she's returning to present Threats to Your Drinking Water, a program sponsored by the Door County Environmental Council, that will take place on Tuesday, September 16th, at 7:00 pm at Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan Street, Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Since receiving her doctoral degree from UW-Madison, Muldoon has worked exclusively in studying the dolostone of the Niagara Escarpment in northeast Wisconsin. She has taken a special interest in how water travels and interacts in our local geology, and just how these features affect the transmission of pollutants in that water.

"The recent contamination of wells from failed septic systems in Door County can be linked to one thing," explained Jerry Viste, DCEC's executive director, "how polluted water can travel long distances in our county's fractured limestone."

"It's good timing that we could get an expert of Dr. Muldoon's standing to come to our county right now. A lot of people are very concerned about the health of their wells," said Viste.

Muldoon's presentation will take a special focus on how residents can look after their own drinking water supply, and precautions they can take to assure their water is safe.

Muldoon won the American Society of Testing and Materials Standards Development Award for her Standard Guide for the Design of Ground-Water Monitoring Systems in Karst and Fractured-Rock Aquifers. Her numerous scientific papers have been widely published throughout the United States.

She is very active in the study of drinking water problems in our area, such as being part of the Karst Task Force that examined the "brown water" incidents in Brown County in 2006-7.  She is also a frequent collaborator with our county soil and water's Bill Schuster.

DCEC programs are free and open to the public.

Attendees are reminded that DCEC provides free small compact-fluorescent light bulb disposal at each of its events. Those bringing bulbs are asked to securely wrap them to prevent breakage.

For further information on DCEC or its compact-fluorescent disposal program, contact them by phone at (920) 743-6003 or info@dcec-wi.org via email.

The Door County Environmental Council is a 38-year-old not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving Door County’s environment for the generations to come. Visit DCEC at www.dcec-wi.com on the web.

Door County Environmental Council
P O Box 114, Fish Creek WI 54212
Phone: 920-743-6003 | FAX: 920-743-6727
Info@dcec-wi.org