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Marathon County conservation staff outlines wellhead-protection pilot in Athens, proposes seed-money program
Summary
Staff described a 60-acre conversion around Athens municipal wells (30 acres prairie, 30 acres pasture) funded by a combination of county, EPA, and grant money and proposed a one-time $20,000 allocation from the county’s environmental impact fund to seed future municipal wellhead protections.
Marathon County conservation staff on Oct. 14 described a pilot wellhead-protection effort in the Village of Athens that converted 60 acres surrounding municipal wells from row crops to perennial vegetation to reduce nitrate infiltration into the village water supply.
County staff said the Village of Athens had rising nitrate readings in its municipal wells, and the county worked with the village and landowners on a low‑cost, non‑treatment approach. Staff said the village agreed to pay $200 per acre to the landowner — above the $150 per acre rent the landowner was previously receiving — to convert 30 acres to prairie near the village and 30 acres to lightly grazed pasture further from the…
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