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Center for Watershed Science and Education Well Water Trend Networks

Informing management with data

Example map from an interactive dashboard of well water quality data for Sauk County, Wisconsin.

Communities around the state are increasingly asking the question, “Is our well water quality getting better, worse, or staying the same?” Unfortunately, most communities have not been collecting data in a way that allows them to effectively answer that question.

Recently a number of counties have worked with the Center to develop citizen-based private well water monitoring programs. These are five-year or longer programs designed to detect changes in well water quality and trends over time and space. The networks are intentionally designed to be representative of the diverse land-use, soils, and geologic regions within a county.

Picture of water faucet
Two lab staff watch a computer screen while a water testing instrument runs.
Lab staff sets up bacteria samples for analysis. Samples are in rows on a lab bench.

How do the programs work?

The Center for Watershed Science and Education works with the community partner to determine goals and objectives and develop a budget and a project plan of work based on community input and needs.

After a plan is developed the Center:

  • Develops a list of landowners with private wells that meet the requirements of the program for recruitment purposes.
  • Recruitment letters are mailed to potential participants who are able to opt-in to the voluntary program.
  • Program participants receive a sample kit, instructions, and pre-paid mailer for collection and return mailing of their well water sample.
  • Water samples are analyzed at the UW-Stevens Point state-certified Water and Environmental Analysis Lab for nitrate-nitrogen, chloride, pH, total hardness, alkalinity, and conductivity.
  • Participants receive a copy of their individual test results and interpretive information.
  • Results are added to an interactive dashboard where the community and program participants can track their individual and community well water quality from year-to-year.

Most communities have not been collecting data in a manner that allows them to understand trends. Think of these well water monitoring networks as a type of S&P 500 Index for well water quality in a county or community. 

Prior to starting a citizen-based well water trend monitoring program, the following questions are often useful in deciding whether this type of data would be useful to decision-makers and resource management professionals:

    • Does your community have enough information about groundwater quality to effectively target management decisions?

    • Does your community understand how various land cover, soil characteristics, and/or geology affect groundwater quality with respect to constituents related to land-use such as nitrate and chloride?

    • Does your community know how well water quality today compares to 10, 15, 30 years ago?

If you answered no to any of these questions, then a well water monitoring trend program would likely have significant value to your community.

Monitoring of well water quality trends is a way to inform residents and local leaders whether groundwater quality is getting better, worse, or staying the same.

Analysis of the nearby land use and well construction of private wells with long-term data aids in understanding what factors contribute to declining or improving groundwater quality. This information can help inform future land use and well construction guidelines in participating communities.

In those areas where water quality is changing, additional investigation into land use practices could provide insight into what is causing those changes (both negative impacts /increasing pollutants and positive impacts/decreasing pollutants) and help inform future actions.

For instance, areas of declining water quality may benefit from investment in additional conservation practices in the area around those wells with increasing pollutant levels. Whereas areas identified as having decreasing pollutant trends may be able to show what factors are contributing to improving water quality that could be replicated in other areas.

First contact one of our specialists to determine goals, objectives, and develop a budget. This information will be used to develop a signed agreement for initiating the project in your community.

For those interested in starting a community well water monitoring network in your county contact Cayla Cavey.

Our Community Partners

Scroll through to learn more about the communities we are working with or access the interactive project dashboards.

Chippewa County, WI

We have been partnering with the Chippewa County Land and Forest Management Department to perform well water testing since 2016. Beginning in 2019, the county initiated a community trend monitoring program in which the same land owners have been submitting samples from their private wells.

View Chippewa County's Well Water Trend Data

Green County, WI

We have been partnering with UW-Extension Green County, the Green County Land and Water Conservation Department, and the Green County Health Department to perform well water testing since 2019.

View Green County's Well Water Trend Data
Image of a well on a rural property in Sauk County.

Sauk County, WI

We have been partnering with UW-Extension Sauk County and the Sauk County Land and Water Conservation Department to perform well water testing since 2019. This work was funded primarily by Sauk County with additional support from the Ho-Chunk Nation.

View Sauk County's Well Water Trend Data