The Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment (usgs.gov/LIDE) recently launched the Well Water Advisory Forecast study in Northeast Wisconsin.
Launch of Northeast Wisconsin Well Water Advisory Forecast Study
Water quality in the fractured rock aquifer changes quickly, so the study will evaluate whether an existing online tool that forecasts surface water runoff (Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast tool: http://www.manureadvisorysystem.wi.gov/runoffrisk/index) can also predict well contamination.
The goal is to “forecast” well contamination so that private well owners are alerted when drinking water quality may be degraded. Researchers from USGS, USDA, and University of Wisconsin-Madison are collaborating on the study.