Water use in Wisconsin

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Wisconsin encompasses more than 56,000 mi², of which 15 percent is covered by water. The State has three principal aquifer systems, more than 15,000 lakes, 32,000 miles of rivers and streams, and borders two Great Lakes—Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The abundant water resources have been important to the history of Wisconsin and the development of its agricultural and industrial livelihoods. However, this development can and has affected future water availability in parts of the State as seen by declining water levels and reductions in water quality.

This has led to recent legislative activity creating groundwater protection areas and the establishment of two groundwater management areas. This legislation also created a water-use reporting program that mandates the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to protect and manage Wisconsin’s water resources. The USGS, through the National Water-Use Information Program, is responsible for compiling and disseminating the nation's water-use data. These data provide critical information used by decision-makers in meeting current and future water supply demands, as well as assist them in sustaining these water resources. The USGS works in cooperation with local, state, and federal environmental agencies to collect water-use information, and compiles these data to produce water-use information aggregated at the county, state, and national levels.

Why is water-use information important?

Access to water-use information - which includes how much, where, and for what purpose water is being used - is essential for water-resources planners and managers, as well as environmental scientists. This information is critical for:

• better planning and making informed decisions regarding water resources
• improving our understanding of the factors that influence water use and future demand
• identifying where it may be possible to improve water-use efficiency
• supporting ground-water modeling

WISCONSIN WATER-USE INFORMATION PROGRAM

The Wisconsin Water-Use Information Program (WI WUIP), part of the national USGS Water-Use Information Program, has a critical role in assessing how, where, and in what quantity water is used across the state. By better understanding water use in Wisconsin, the USGS can assist state and local agencies to meet current and future demands as well as assist in sustaining these water resources.

The WI WUIP investigates and collects data on:

• water use: quantifying how much, where, and for what purpose,
• water-use trends: tracking and documenting changes

Objectives
Specific objectives of the WI WUIP are to:

• Analyze the source, use, and disposition of water resources at local and state levels
• Reply to water-use data and information requests
• Document trends or existing and emerging issues in Wisconsin water use
• Cooperate with state and local agencies on projects of special interest
• Develop and maintain water-use data and records, including water-use databases
• Publish a Wisconsin water-use data report
• Provide expertise and explore uncertainty in various water-use topics

The WU WUIP also works to broaden the understanding of water use in Wisconsin by developing new and strengthening existing partnerships.

Current activities include:

• Setting up a water-use Data Exchange with the WDNR to facilitate data access for water resource studies and to improve our understanding of Wisconsin water use
• Identifying resources and methodologies to help determine erroneous water-use data and quantify data uncertainty
• Compiling and summarizing the amount of ground- and surface water used in Wisconsin by county, watershed, and (new for 2010) aquifer system for the year 2010
• Developing and refining estimation methods used to quantify water use
• Water-use database testing for the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS)
• Preparing site-specific data for NWIS to support a National Water Census
• Look for opportunities to elevate the science of water use to foster water conservation and sustainability

Wisconsin Water Use 5-Year Compilations

As part of the National Water-Use Information Program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects, compiles, and estimates data for different categories of water use. Information about sources of water, amounts of water withdrawn, and how the water was used, is available to those involved in establishing water-resource policy and to those managing water resources. Every five years, data at the county level are compiled into a national water-use data system and state-level data are published. (Learn more about water-use terminology and water data acquisition.)

Since reporting started in 1950, the methods scientists use to collect water use data and create estimates has changed. In some years, not all categories, counties, or sources of water use were available for compilation into the Wisconsin reports. Use the table below to determine what categories were compiled into the USGS "Water Use in Wisconsin" report of that year.

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Non-USGS water-use publications

(See the Publications tab above for links to other official USGS publications.)

National Research Council, 2002, Estimating water use in the United States—A new paradigm for the National Water Use Information Program: Washington, DC, National Academies Press, 176 p.

The Upper Midwest Water Science Center conducts water resource investigations that frequently incorporate a water-use component. The majority of these investigations integrate water-use data into the construction of a hydrologic model, which is used to evaluate the impact of water use on water budgets, ground-water-flow paths, and baseflow contribution to surface-water features. Below is a table of projects that have a water-use component.