FREDERICA FREYBERG:

FINALLY THIS WEEK, WE TURN TO SOME ORIGINAL REPORTING BY OUR PARTNER, THE WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM. RON SEELY’S REPORT TITLED “FAILURE AT THE FAUCET” HITS NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS SITES THIS SUNDAY. IT’S A MUST READ. RON SEELY IS HERE NOW TO PREVIEW HIS PIECE. THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

RON SEELY:

IT’S A PLEASURE.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO THIS IS REALLY SCARY STUFF THAT YOU’RE WRITING ABOUT. YOU’RE BASICALLY SAYING, AND CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, THAT WISCONSIN’S DRINKING WATER, ESPECIALLY FROM PRIVATE WELLS, PROBABLY ISN’T SAFE. HOW ACCURATE IS THAT?

RON SEELY:

WELL, IT’S NOT SAFE FOR — WE HAVE A ROUGH ESTIMATE AT LEAST HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE PROBABLY ARE DRINKING OR AT LEAST USING WATER THAT MAY BE CONTAMINATED. SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP IT A LITTLE BIT IN PERSPECTIVE. FIVE POINT EIGHT, SIX MILLION PEOPLE IN THE STATE AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO REALLY CAN’T DRINK THEIR WATER. SO IT IS STRIKING. NOBODY WOULD THINK THAT OF WISCONSIN, I THINK, AT FIRST BLUSH. BUT WHEN YOU START ADDING UP THE CONTAMINANTS AND THE POLLUTANTS, THE LIST GETS LONG, AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THOSE CONTAMINANTS GROWS RAPIDLY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WELL, IN FACT I WROTE SOME OF THEM DOWN, BECAUSE IT’S SO STARTLING, THE NUMBER OF THEM THAT YOU TALK ABOUT. HEAVY METALS, ARSENIC, LEAD, RADIUM, SALMONELLA, E-COLI, NITRATES, VIRUSES AND PESTICIDES. IS THERE ONE OF THESE THAT KIND OF OUT-SIZES THE OTHERS IN TERMS OF THE PROBLEM?

RON SEELY:

BACTERIAL PATHOGENS ARE THE NUMBER ONE POLLUTANT. THEY CAN COME FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES. THAT’S THE BIG CONCERN. BUT THE THING THAT STRUCK US IS THAT THESE — WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON WATER ISSUES AT THE CENTER FOR YEARS NOW. AND WE HAVE A GRANT FROM JOYCE AND SOME OTHER FUNDING AGENCIES TO RUN A PROGRAM OR DO A REPORTING PROJECT CALLED WATER WATCH WISCONSIN. AND THIS IS PART OF THAT PROJECT. IT’S PART OF A PROJECT CALLED THE CONFLUENCE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE JOURNALISM SCHOOL, WHERE WE WORK WITH STUDENTS, WHICH IS ANOTHER INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS. BUT IN THE PAST, EVEN OUR REPORTING, WE’VE DEALT WITH CONTAMINANTS ONE BY ONE IN ISOLATION. AND WE STARTED THINKING, YOU KNOW, LOOK, WE’VE WRITTEN A LOT OF STORIES ABOUT THESE INDIVIDUAL CONTAMINANTS, ABOUT NITRATES, ABOUT ARSENIC. WHAT IF WE CONSIDER THIS AS A WHOLE AND LOOK STATEWIDE, LOOK AT THE STATEWIDE PICTURE, AND TRY TO ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION. HOW MANY PEOPLE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER? AND WE WERE SHOCKED. AND WHEN YOU START BREAKING IT DOWN, 94,000 HOMES HAVE NITRATE LEVELS IN THEIR WELLS THAT ARE UNSAFE. 94,000 PEOPLE. YOU KNOW, IT QUICKLY — THE NUMBER QUICKLY BUILDS. SO BACTERIA NITRATES IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND MOST COMMON POLLUTANT. IF YOU LOOK AT A MAP OF DANE COUNTY AND THE WELLS THAT ARE CONTAMINATED BY NITRATE, THE MAP WOULD COVER THE WHOLE STATE — THE WHOLE COUNTY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WHAT ABOUT MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES? HOW SAFE ARE THOSE?

RON SEELY:

MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES ARE MUCH, MUCH SAFER BECAUSE OF REGULATIONS. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE NO REGULATIONS THAT REQUIRE THE OWNERS OF PRIVATE WELLS TO TEST THEIR WATER. THERE ARE ABOUT 940,000 HOUSEHOLDS DEPENDENT ON PRIVATE WELLS IN THE STATE. ONLY ABOUT 16% OF THOSE GET TESTED. ONLY ABOUT 16% OF PEOPLE ON PRIVATE WELLS TEST THEM, WHICH IS SHOCKING. A THIRD OF THE PEOPLE HAVE NOT TESTED THEIR PRIVATE WELL AT ALL. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES ON THE OTHER HAND ARE BETTER REGULATED. THERE’S A LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF CONTAMINANTS THAT ARE TESTED FOR. BUT THERE ARE ISSUES. WE FOUND, FOR EXAMPLE, RECENTLY MARK BORKHART – WITHIN THE LAST FEW YEAR- MARK BORKHART A REALLY GOOD MICROBIOLOGIST FROM MARSHFIELD WORKS FOR THE USDA, DISCOVERED VIRUSES IN DEEP AQUIFERS. YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY REPORTED ON THIS. IT’S BEEN AROUND. BUT WHEN HE MADE THAT DISCOVERY, THE DNR PUT A RULE IN PLACE REQUIRING COMMUNITIES, MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS, TO TREAT THEIR WATER. IT’S VERY EASILY TREATED FOR VIRUSES. NOT LONG — A YEAR LATER THAT RULE WAS RESCINDED. AND NOW MORE THAN 60 COMMUNITIES, 75,000 PEOPLE ARE DRINKING WATER THAT ISN’T TREATED FOR VIRUSES.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

THERE’S MUCH MORE TO READ IN YOUR REPORT, AND I HAVE MANY MORE QUESTIONS. WE CAN’T GET TO THEM. BUT I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT ALSO IN THIS FIRST REPORT — AND THERE ARE SUBSEQUENT STORIES TO COME OUT — YOU DO TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY CAN DO, HOW THEY CAN TEST AND HOW THEY CAN FIND OUT WHETHER OR NOT THEIR SOURCE OF WATER IS SAFE.

RON SEELY:

YES. THERE ARE LOTS OF RESOURCES OUT THERE. GO TO WISCONSINWATCH.ORG. THE STORY WILL BE THERE SUNDAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF LINKS IN THE ONLINE STORY THAT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL. IT’S IMPORTANT I THINK FOR ME TO NOTE THAT THIS WAS A COLLABORATION. I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO THE JOURNALISM STUDENTS IN DEB BRUM’S CLASS AND THE JOURNALISM SCHOOL FOR ALLOWING US TO WORK WITH THESE STUDENTS, TEACH THEM. AND GET THEIR STORIES OUT THERE. I THINK IT WAS A REALLY UNIQUE PROJECT AND WE’RE PROUD OF THE WORK THE STUDENTS DID.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

THANKS VERY MUCH. LOOK FOR RON SEELY’S “FAILURE AT THE FAUCET” REPORT SUNDAY IN NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE STATE. HIS STORY IS A PRODUCT OF THE WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM. WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION IS A PARTNER.