Public Health and Groundwater Protection Ordinance

As you travel north along the Niagara Escarpment, the bedrock or karst becomes more fractured and porous, allowing seepage from the surface. Combine that with very thin soil to bedrock and a high-water table, the result is a vulnerable topography for contamination from agricultural runoff.

Because industrial farms are exempt from the Clean Water Act, Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs) have expanded relentlessly, producing millions of gallons of untreated animal waste that is spread on farm fields. Kewaunee County has the highest concentration of CAFOs in the country and Kewaunee County residents have been dealing with the loss of clean drinking water for decades.

In a lawsuit brought by Kewaunee County residents, the judge in the case commented that the area has the water of a third world country. Owing to lax regulations, Kewaunee County has added its eighteenth CAFO, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), after recently approving the expansion of an existing Door County CAFO, is now in the process of reviewing a permit for another southern Door County farm to move to CAFO status in one of the most vulnerable areas in Wisconsin.

In 2016, Kewaunee County adopted the Public Health and Groundwater Protection Ordinance to curtail ground and surface water contamination which includes the following restriction: “(a) Wastes shall not be mechanically applied to land, or allowed to directly drain to landscapes likely having areas less than 20 feet in soil depth to carbonate bedrock during the time period of January 1st through April 15th, unless an exemption is issued, in writing, by the Land and Water Conservation Committee.”

In 2018, Wisconsin approved NR151 to regulate manure spreading in karst areas. However, Kewaunee County also maintains and enforces their Groundwater Protection Ordinance because it provides an additional layer of protection. We are requesting that Door County adopt the same ordinance. The hard work of researching and developing this ordinance has already been done by Kewaunee County. Download the Final Report of the Karst Task Force here, and view Kewaunee County’s groundwater protection ordinance here.

We encourage everyone to contact swcd@co.door.wi.us and countyboard@co.door.wi.us and request that Door County adopt the same restrictions that are currently in place in Kewaunee County. This will require a grassroots effort by Door County residents.

The largest CAFO in Kewaunee County maintains nearly 50% of their Nutrient Management Plans (land for disposal of manure) in Door County. Many other Kewaunee County CAFOs also lease Door County land for disposal of manure.

According to the Karst Task Force Report, “…a town ordinance banning land application of manure may result in farmers without storage transporting manure to neighboring towns and applying it in areas with higher risk than the original target field.” THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS NOW HAPPENING IN DOOR COUNTY!

We must speak up to protect our drinking water. PLEASE HELP US BY CONTACTING YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES, ATTENDING AND SPEAKING AT COUNTY, TOWN, AND VILLAGE MEETINGS, AND/OR MAKING A DONATION.

By Christine Reid and Your Door County Environmental Council

Learn more about our bedrock here.