RESPECTING GOD’S GIFT OF WATER: CONSERVATION AND POLLUTION ISSUES Dave Arnott, St. Bruno’s Green Team Presentation March 30th, 2014

T OPICS C OVERED Water Cycle How water moves throughout the environment Water Quantity and Conservation Water Quality Pollutants Relationship of Water Quality and Quantity

W ATER C YCLE

W ATER Q UANTITY AND C ONSERVATION Christiana Peppard TED ED Series Where Do We Get Our Fresh Water? Where does our fresh water come from? How much fresh water is available for residential use? How much is used for industry and farming?

W ATER Q UANTITY AND C ONSERVATION Residential Sanitary Water Use showers, dishes, toilet, cooking and drinking, not lawn watering 1990: 85 gallons per capita per day 2013: 65 gallons per capita per day poor countries, 3- 5 gallons per family per day Local Issues Village of Dousman Water Services Freezing Frost depth 4-6 feet Recommend continuous water running to prevent freezing

W ATER Q UANTITY AND C ONSERVATION National Issues CA drought CA, NV, AZ Water re-use of NP water, gray water, Great Lakes Compact Keep water in Great Lakes Basin Waukesha Pump From Lake Michigan (Oak Creek) Return Water to Lake MI Through Force Main to Underwood Creek First Test of Exception

W ATER Q UALITY Sanitary Sewer and Storm Water Major Statewide Contaminants Phosphorous Chlorides Others Total Suspended Solids (TSS) Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) Ammonia Nitrogen

W ATER Q UALITY – T REATMENT

W ATER Q UALITY -C ONTAMINANTS

W ATER Q UALITY - P HOSPHORUS Naturally occurring nutrient Common in fertilizers, pesticides, detergents Additive to animal feed Present in human and animal waste

P HOSPHORUS - H YPOXIA Hypoxia Areas have increased from 10 in 1960 to Over 400 Today

W ATER Q UALITY W ATER Q UALITY I MPACTS OF E XCESSIVE P HOSPHORUS Harmful algal blooms Rashes Respiratory Issues Neurotoxins (dog deaths) Poor water clarity Reduces recreation Poor aesthetics Dissolved oxygen depletion Degraded biology Lost tourism Lower property values

W ATER Q UALITY - P HOSPHORUS What can be done? Use P-free lawn fertilizer Use P-free dishwasher detergent Farming Don’t apply manure to frozen fields Limit P content in animal feed Type and amount of fertilizer Plant cover crops Tillage practices Treatment facility changes – effluent levels 14 times lower, $4-7 B in WI, cost will show up in rates

W ATER Q UALITY – OTHER C ONTAMINANTS Chlorides Water softeners - demand-based, not timer based Keep water softeners tuned up Reduce degree of water softening Pour bag of salt into Bark River Total Suspended Solids (TSS) Construction Sites, control with use of wattles or silt fence Rain gardens for reduction of impermeable areas Bacteria Milwaukee MSD, improve deep tunnels, wetland restoration Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Rock River TMDL

W ATER Q UALITY What can you do? Don’t drive a car with leaking oil. Use biodegradable soap for car washing. Inspect septic system, keep updated. Pick up dog waste. Reduce fertilizer waste. Reduce insecticide and herbicide. Don’t rake leaves or grass to street. Monitor State Representatives. Get involved in TMDL process.

R ELATIONSHIP OF W ATER Q UALITY AND W ATER Q UANTITY Industrial chemical spill January 9, 2014 West Virginia, Elk River Affected 300,000 people Fracking Boom to oil and natural gas industry last 7 years Drilling through groundwater to shale Groundwater contamination with fracking fluid Air pollution Cause of minor earthquakes

R ELATIONSHIP OF W ATER Q UALITY AND W ATER Q UANTITY C ONT ’ D City of Waukesha High radium levels, Wells are very deep (sandstone) Need to reduce Ra levels, mandate by EPA levels, higher cancer risk Pump Lake MI water from Oak Creek to Waukesha and return it to Underwood Creek and eventually to Lake MI. Great Lakes Compact

Q UESTIONS ? Thank you!