Here & Now

WCIJ Report On Human, Animal Waste Contaminating Water

NOW TO ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS. MOST OF US EXPECT THAT DRINKING WATER FROM THE TAP, WHETHER FROM A PRIVATE WELL OR A CITY SYSTEM, IS SAFE TO DRINK. YOU MIGHT ALSO EXPECT IF IT WEREN’T, REGULATORS WOULD BE WATCHING OUT FOR YOUR FAMILY’S HEALTH. WELL IN THE LATEST INSTALLMENT OF “FAILURE AT THE FAUCET,” THE WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FOUND WE SHOULDN’T NECESSARILY EXPECT CLEAN, SAFE WATER OR GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT OF IT. AUTHOR RON SEELY LOOKED AT DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATION FROM ANIMAL AND HUMAN WASTE IN A TWO-PART SERIES OF REPORTS THAT HITS NEWS OUTLETS THIS SUNDAY. RON, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

RON SEELY:

NO PROBLEM.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO YOU FOCUS ON KEWAUNEE COUNTY AND START YOUR REPORTING WITH A FAMILY THERE WHOSE WELL WAS CONTAMINATED BACK IN 2004 OR AT LEAST THAT’S WHEN THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT IT. WE ALSO VISITED THAT SAME FARM AND FAMILY BACK IN 2004. BUT WHAT’S THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM THERE WITH CONTAMINATED WATER?

RON SEELY:

YEAH. WE DID START WITH FAMILIES LIKE THE TREMLS. IT WAS A REAL TRAGIC SITUATION WHERE THEIR DAUGHTER ALMOST DIED ACTUALLY FROM INGESTING OR ACTUALLY BATHING IN WATER THAT WAS CONTAMINATED BY PATHOGENS FROM MATURE. IT IS A PROBLEM ELSEWHERE OTHER THAN KEWAUNEE COUNTY. KEWAUNEE COUNTY IS PARTICULARLY BAD. A THIRD OF THE WELLS THERE ARE UNUSABLE. BUT STATEWIDE WE FOUND OUT ABOUT 18% OF PRIVATE WELLS, THOSE ARE WELLS USED BY ABOUT 169,000 PEOPLE, HAVE BACTERIAL PATHOGENS IN THEM AND THAT’S AN ALARMINGLY HIGH NUMBER FOR A STATE LIKE WISCONSIN.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WHERE DO THESE PATHOGENS COME FROM?

RON SEELY:

THEY CAN COME FROM EITHER ANIMAL OR HUMAN SOURCES. THEY CAN COME FROM OTHER SOURCES. BUT WE FOCUSED IN AT KEWAUNEE COUNTY ON THE ANIMAL PATHOGENS, THE BIG FARMS AND THE MANURE THAT’S SPREAD IN SUCH HIGH VOLUMES ON THE LAND THERE. BUT THERE ARE OTHER SOURCES, HUMAN SOURCES, AND THAT RELATES LARGELY TO SEPTIC SYSTEMS THAT DON’T WORK CORRECTLY. AND WE FOUND THAT ESPECIALLY IN AREAS WHERE THE BEDROCK BENEATH THE GROUND IS FRACTURED AND THE POLLUTANTS CAN GET EASILY INTO THE GROUNDWATER, THAT THERE ARE NO SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR SEPTIC SYSTEMS THAT PROTECT AGAINST CONTAMINANTS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

AND YET THIS ISN’T JUST PRIVATE WELLS. THIS IS ALSO MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS.

RON SEELY:

MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS, TOO. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF ALARMING THINGS. ONE, WE FOUND THAT EVEN IN MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN PRIVATE WELLS IN TERMS OF OVERSIGHT AND PROVIDING CLEAN WATER. STILL, THE LATEST DRINKING WATER REPORTS SHOW THAT 3.7% OF ABOUT 11,420 SYSTEMS SHOW UP WITH BACTERIAL PATHOGENS. THAT’S 92,000 PEOPLE. AND LARGELY THAT’S IN SMALL TRAILER COURTS OR RURAL BARS OR CHURCHES OR PLACES WHERE THERE’S NOT AS MUCH ATTENTION PAID TO THE DRINKING WATER, ESPECIALLY FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

VERY BRIEFLY, YOUR REPORTING SUGGESTS THAT ONLY 16% OF PEOPLE HAVE THEIR PRIVATE WELLS TESTED, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING AND YOU HAVE RESOURCES AS PART OF YOUR REPORTING ABOUT HOW PEOPLE CAN GO IT.

RON SEELY:

CERTAINLY. THERE’S INFORMATION IF YOU GO TO wisconsinwatch.org. THE STORIES ARE ARCHIVED THERE. YOU CAN GET INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET YOUR WELL TESTED. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO GET YOUR WELL TESTED IF YOU’RE ON A PRIVATE WELL.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

ALL RIGHT. RON SEELY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPORTING.

RON SEELY:

SURE.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM’S LATEST REPORTING ON FAILURE AT THE FAUCET ROLLS OUT SUNDAY IN NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE STATEWIDE.