Activists Urge DNR To Take More Action On Water Pollution From Big Farms

Citizen activists continue to urge the Department of Natural Resources to take action against phosphorus and other water pollution from large-scale farms.

Last week, it was Nancy Utesch of the group Kewaunee Cares who delivered the do-more message to DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp at a DNR Board meeting in Madison. Utesch said Stepp and her agency have been too lax with pollution from many of the 15 big farms not far from Utesch’s home.

“Please do not give any more additional permits allowing more expansions and more cows in my county, Kewaunee County, until we actually get a handle on what is going on there with our water,” said Utesch.

The DNR said in a statement that it and the EPA have been meeting with key parties in the county, and that working groups will start this June to consider and provide recommendations on the most pertinent topics to be addressed. It says those topics include: “short-term solutions to provide owners of contaminated wells with safe drinking water, identifying karst areas susceptible to groundwater contamination, determining agricultural and other best management practices to significantly reduce the risk of groundwater contamination in these areas, and determining what monitoring or other research-type efforts might assist in further identifying solutions.”