Groundwater Citizens Advisory Committee — Agenda Packet

PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT T PLANNING • ZONING AND CODE ADMINISTRATION • LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION ON-SITE WASTE • GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT • ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS PARK DEVELOPMENT 1462 STRONGS AVENUE, STEVENS POINT, WI 54481 • PHONE: 715-346-1334 • FAX: 715-346-1677 To: Groundwater Citizen Advisory Committee (GCAC) From: Tyler Kunze, Water Resource Specialist Date: August 31, 2026 R.e.: September 10, 2026, GCAC Meeting The Portage County Groundwater Citizens Advisory Committee will be meeting on Thursday, September 10, 2026, in Conference Room 5, on the third floor of the County Annex Building. There will also be an option to attend the meeting virtually if you would like. The link for virtual attendance is included on the meeting agenda included in the packet and on the Portage County online calendar. Those that attend virtually will still count towards a quorum. At the start of this meeting, guest presenter, Adam Freihofer, Program Manager in the DNR’s Water Use Section, will speak on a variety of topics involving water use in Wisconsin. Specifically, he will discuss the state of water use in Wisconsin, high capacity well permits, and water use associated with large scale data centers. I’ve listened to other talks that Adam has given, and he is a valuable resource and full of information. We are fortunate to have him give us his time during the meeting. Next, I will provide final numbers on the WATER project. The Portage County WATER (Well owner assistance for treatment and economic recovery) project is now completed and the final numbers for private well water tests and treatment reimbursements are in. I am excited to share these numbers to the committee and to recognize the impact that was felt by so many people throughout the county because of everyone who was involved in this program. As we are recognizing the culmination of one project, we are planning another. In 2027, we have another county-wide groundwater study planned. This time around, we have a budget of $50,000 – double what we’ve had the previous two times this study has been conducted. Because of the additional funds from the county, we have a few more options of how to best study Portage County groundwater. During this meeting, we will have a discussion on how to best utilize these funds, including testing additional parameters or testing more wells. Feel free to call or email me before the meeting if you would like me to research anything to have information on hand during our meeting to further the discussion. This is one of the largest projects that is being done to study the groundwater throughout the county, and everyone’s perspective will be valued at this upcoming meeting. As members, if there are any ideas for future agenda items that you would like to discuss, bring those ideas to the meeting as there is a standing agenda item to discuss future agenda items. With the Groundwater Management Plan completed last year, we can utilize it to guide us in our ongoing work. As always, we will have an opportunity for local municipalities to share updates on groundwater concerns and/or issues. If there is something you would like to discuss, please come prepared to do so. If you are not able to attend this meeting, please notify Nicole Winkelman winkelmn@co.portage.wi.gov at as soon as you are able, as it is critical that we have enough members for a quorum in order to conduct business at the meeting. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me, my contact information is: 715-346-1334 or kunzet@co.portage.wi.gov. Sincerely, Tyler Kunze PORTAGE COUNTY GROUNDWATER CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. Conference Room 5, County Annex 1462 Strongs Avenue, Stevens Point, Wisconsin REMOTE ATTENDANCE & COMMENT To attend this meeting by telephone: dial 1-872-242-7813, after dialing the number you will then be asked to enter in a meeting number. Use the following meeting number: 774 862 437, then press # To attend this meeting by video: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/264699404252715?p=03YHi8yngbSgrrXR2K AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. PUBLIC NOTICE: Members of the public who wish to address the Committee on specific agenda items must register their requests at this time, with such comments subject to the reasonable control of the Committee Chair as set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order. 3. Review/Approval of Minutes from October 16, 2025 4. Presentation: a. Wisconsin Water Use – High Capacity Wells and Large Scale Data Centers 5. Update on County Projects a. Final WATER Project Numbers 6. Discussion on 2027 County Wide Groundwater Study 7. Member Updates 8. Future Agenda Items 9. Next Meeting Date 10. Adjournment Notice: A quorum of the Portage County Board of Supervisors or any committee thereof may be present at this meeting. ************************************************************************************************************************************* Any person who has special needs, and plans on attending this meeting, should contact the Planning and Zoning Department as soon as possible to ensure that reasonable accommodations can be made. Telephone 715-346-1334 ************************************************************************************************************************************* 1 PORTAGE COUNTY GROUNDWATER CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONFERENCE ROOM 5, COUNTY ANNEX THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2025 - 7:00 P.M. MEETING MINUTES GROUNDWATER CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (GCAC) MEMBERS LISTING: MUNICIPALITY MEMBERS NAME Attendance MUNICIPALITY MEMBERS NAME Attendance TOWNS: TOWNS: Alban Vacant Vacant Pine Grove Ben Sawyer Absent Almond Edward Burns Present Pine Grove Alternate Jeanette Wilson Present Amherst Gary Rzentkowski Present Plover Joe Firkus Present Amherst Alternate Peggy Farrell Absent Sharon Ron Hensler Present Belmont Mike Warzynski Absent Stockton Curt Soik Absent Belmont Alternate Rita Walkowicz Absent VILLAGES: Buena Vista DJ Firkus Present Almond Dylan Warzynski Present Buena Vista Alternate Roger Turzinski Present Amherst Mike Juris Online Carson John Jazdzewski Present Amherst Junction Vacant Vacant Dewey Dennis Meis Present Junction City Peter Mallek Present Dewey Alternate Kathy Girolamo Absent Nelsonville Tarion O’Carroll Present Eau Pleine David Hansen Absent Park Ridge Dan McFarlane Present Grant Cecile Stelzer- Johnson Absent Park Ridge Alternate Christine Neidlein Absent Grant Alternate Andrea Musch Absent Plover Matt Saloun Online Hull Tim Zimmerman Present Plover Alternate Vacant Vacant Lanark John Droske Online Rosholt Vacant Vacant Linwood Garth Frost Present Whiting Jake Wilcox Online New Hope Jenny Larsen Online CITY: New Hope Alternate Anne Abbott Absent Stevens Point Eric Southworth Online STAFF PRESENT: Tyler Kunze, Nicki Winkelman, and Tim Reed - Online, Planning and Zoning Department. OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Edward Burns, Chair. 2. REVIEW/APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 18, 2025: A motioned was made by Ron Hensler, seconded by Dennis Meis, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion to approve carried by voice vote, with no negative votes. 3. PUBLIC NOTICE: Members of the public who wish to address the Committee on specific agenda items must register their requests at this time with such comments subject to the reasonable control of the Committee Chair as set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order. No one registered to speak. 4. PRESENTATIONS: Tyler Kunze - Water Resource Specialist, presented on the following: a) 2022 County-Wide Water Sampling Results b) Lake Levels & Streamflow Data c) Portage Solar Monitoring Wells 2 5. DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION : Recommend Groundwater Management Plan Updates to the Planning and Zoning Committee & Land and Water Conservation Committee : A motion was made by Ron Hensler, seconded by Dan McFarlane to amend the following: Page 19 – extra word removed. Page 14, 27, 62 – changed phrase "to try and" to “to try to”. Page 34 – Reword a sentence to “Is equal to one mg/L for nitrate -N” & “It is recommended that everyone should avoid long- term consumption of water containing nitrate above the MCL”. Page 51- revised to read “lawn fertilizer”. Page 26-27 include Amherst 2024 total metered water sales data and update graph with the 2024 data. Motion to the amended the Groundwater Management Plan Update by Peter Mallek and seconded by John Droske. Motion to approve carried by voice vote, with no negative votes. 6. MEMBER UPDATES: o Tyler Kunze gave an introduction of new committee members. o Peter Mallek updated that Junction City would like well # 6 to be back online. 7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: No discussion. 8. NEXT MEETING DATE Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2025 at 7:00 p.m., Conference Room 5, County Annex. 9. ADJOURNMENT Chair Burns adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Portage County WATER Project Well Owner Assistance and Treatment for Economic Recovery SLFRF Funds – Invest in Water, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water • In April 2022, Portage County set aside funds from the American Rescue Plan Act – State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF) for projects to improve access to and provide safe drinking water for Portage County residents • The project was specifically for testing and identifying nitrate-nitrogen concentrations above the health standards and providing funding for treating those wells • Broken up into two categories • County residents with private wells • Transient non-community drinking water sources Private Residential Wells • Approx. 15,000 active private residential wells in Portage County. • Roughly 21% of them exceed the drinking water standard of 10mg/L of Nitrates. That translates to ~3,000 wells that require treatment/replacement 14% are between 10-20 mg/L and 6% are over 20mg/L • NOTE: If a well qualified for the state well compensation program at the time, we directed them to that program first. The Residential Well Process • Residents complete an online application form • A test kit was obtained • Water was tested and submitted to the lab • Results indicated eligibility for the program • Eligible residents could receive a water treatment system • Choice of installation (future maintenance is homeowner responsibility) • Follow-up test is conducted after one year 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Private Water Tests 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 Town Alban Almond Amherst Belmont Buena Vista Carson Dewey Eau Pleine Grant Hull Lanark Linwood New Hope Park Ridge Pine Grove Plover Sharon Stockton Total # Tests* 52 32 167 22 58 37 40 35 51 272 86 35 70 23 26 82 84 171 1343 * # Tests include HOP and Bacteria only 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Private Water Tests Private RO Reimbursements Water Tests vs Treatment System Reimbursements Private Well Treatment 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 $0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Number of RO Systems RO Reimbursements by Year Dollars Reimbursed Number of Systems Year # Tests* Testing Cost # of Systems Reimbursement Amount 2022 189 $ 11,146.00 11 $ 14,326.42 2023 368 $ 23,111.00 38 $ 49,178.03 2024 475 $ 30,156.00 33 $ 43,731.34 2025 336 $ 20,746.00 21 $ 28,553.29 2026 45 $ 2,897.00 2 $ 2,028.20 Total 1413 $ 88,056.00 105 $ 135,789.08 * Tests include HOP, Nitrate-N only, Bacteria only Average Nitrate Reduction: 78% Nitrate-N Pre-Treatment: 17.3 mg/L Nitrate-N Post-Treatment: 3.9 mg/L 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45Nitrate-N Concentration (mg/L) Pre-Treatment Post-Treatment Transient Non-community (TN) systems • 128 total TN systems in Portage County • 35 systems identified as having nitrate levels that exceeded 10 mg/L or were trending to exceed 10 mg/L over the next few years • 10 of those systems already had a nitrate removal system installed but had on-going maintenance costs associated with the system • No state funding available for TN systems • Set aside $10,000 per system for costs associated with the existing treatment system, to drill a new well, install a treatment system or connect to a municipal system • Work with the DNR to determine if new well or treatment system is best choice Number of new wells installed Number of treatment systems installed Number of previously installed treatment systems reimbursed 2022 2 5 2023 1 4 2024 2 3 1 2025 3* 3 2026 1** ** TOTAL 9 6 10 *1 new well installed for bacteria contamination issue **4 new wells or treatment systems to be reimbursed/installed in 2026 Type of TN system Number of systems reimbursed to date Number of systems to be reimbursed in 2026 Church 3 1 Campground 5 1 Hotel 2 Rec Ed Camp 2 1 Retail Food Facility - Serving Meals 10 Retail Food Facility - Not Serving Meals 3 1 TOTAL 25 4 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 W T T T T W T W T T T T T W T T T T T T W T W W W Nitrate-N Pre Treatment: 16.9 mg/L Nitrate-N Post Treatment: 1.6 mg/L Pre-Treatment Post- Treatment Average Nitrate Reduction: 90 % Nitrate-N Concentration (mg/L W: new well T: treatment system $0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000 $90,000 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Reimbursements for TN systems per year Total TN reimbursement: $232,927 *anticipate an additional $40,000 in reimbursements in 2026 WATER project great success for TN systems Initial goal: 35 systems *The nitrate level decreased for a few systems over the past few years, so no action was taken To date: helped 25 systems with 4 more systems in 2026 Total TN reimbursement: $232,927 *anticipate an additional $40,000 in reimbursements in 2026