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Central Sands collaborative refines county letter on ‘Nitrates on Tap,’ plans Nitrate Flow Tracker rollout
Summary
The Central Sands Groundwater County Collaborative reviewed a draft county letter responding to the Alliance for the Great Lakes/Clean Wisconsin report and requested specific wording edits; members asked WGNHS to hold an online rollout of its Nitrate Flow Tracker app and will circulate county‑specific letters for oversight‑committee or county‑board approval.
The Central Sands Groundwater County Collaborative met Dec. 8, 2025, to review local groundwater updates and to refine a proposed county letter responding to the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Clean Wisconsin report “Nitrates on Tap: The Cost of Nitrate Contamination in Wisconsin’s Drinking Water.” Chair Bill Leichtnam opened the meeting and members approved minutes from Oct. 30, 2025.
At the heart of the discussion was a draft county letter that would be sent from counties via the Collaborative. Members asked for a set of editorial and substantive adjustments: explicitly insert the full report title after the phrase “a recent report,” reorder a bullet so the current second point becomes the first, and use a single consistent agency label (either “DNR” or “WDNR”) throughout the document. The group also requested adding the clause “due to potential health complications” to a paragraph discussing lowering groundwater and drinking‑water standards, correcting a typographical error (using “who” instead of “wo”), and removing the word “contact” that currently precedes contact information in the closing paragraph. Finally, members asked that each county’s conservationist and contact information be appended to the county‑specific copies of the letter.
County conservationists reported routine program activity: Waushara County said long‑term water testing continues; Wood County highlighted outreach, including a community “Science by the River” program on Oct. 18 that drew about 300 attendees; Portage County noted a wellhead protection ordinance is moving toward local approval. The group preferred an online meeting for the WGNHS Nitrate Flow Tracker app rollout; Jen McNelly volunteered to schedule the WGNHS presentation and help with outreach. McNelly also said a videographer with Wisconsin Conservation Voters is seeking contacts of private‑well households with contamination for a possible story and asked members to forward any leads.
Next steps: the Collaborative will incorporate the agreed edits into the draft letter, and county copies will be circulated to each county’s oversight committee or county board for local approval before mailing.
