U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 051-99

January 2000

Wisconsin

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

is the Nation’s principal earth- and

biological-science agency. The USGS

provides long-term monitoring,

integration, and interpretation of data,

and scientific research in partnership

with State and county governments,

municipal public-works departments,

public-health agencies, water and

sanitation districts, Indian agencies,

and other Federal agencies. This fact

sheet describes some of the current

USGS activities in Wisconsin.

Abatement of Agricultural and

Urban Water Nonpoint Pollution

Much of Wisconsin is faced with the

growing problem of deteriorating

water quality in streams because of

increasing runoff from nonpoint

pollution sources. The State has

approximately 24,000 dairy farms

from which sediment, nutrients, and

pesticides can enter surface-water

bodies. Additionally, runoff from

tilled cropland and urban areas can

add more sediment and pesticides to

streams. Runoff of this type generally

decreases dissolved oxygen in the

stream water, and thus is detrimental

to the health of fish and other aquatic

organisms. The runoff also adds

unwanted sediment and chemicals to

the water that must be dealt with by

water users downstream. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has proposed, and is

implementing, several “Best Management Practices” (BMP) projects in an

attempt to reduce some of the problems associated with this nonpoint

pollution. The USGS has several

studies directed toward evaluating the

effectiveness of these DNR projects.

The objectives of some of the USGS

studies are to determine differences in

the quality and quantity of surfacewater runoff from several areas of

different pasture-management

practices, both before and after

implementation of the BMPs. Other

study objectives are to measure the

amounts of solids and nutrients in

urban runoff, and to measure runoff

volumes and water quality from

several pastures. The map (fig. 1)

shows the locations of all of the

monitoring sites, but it does not

identify their purposes.

The objectives and the benefits of the

results of the USGS studies are

important to the future quality of the

State’s rivers and streams. The USGS

documentation of before-and-after

BMP applications can identify which

practices work best under each type

of pre-existing condition. After

thorough study, the DNR will be able

to protect stream-water quality by

recommending the BMP for individual sites.

Medicinal Drugs for Aquaculture

Fishing is a major pastime for 50

million Americans, and recreational

fisheries have come to rely heavily on

fish produced in public hatcheries. If

hatchery-raised fish contract diseases,

medicinal drugs regulated by the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

are required to restore their health.

Only three drugs and one anesthetic

are legally available to treat many of

the fish species cultured by public

aquaculture, and additional drugs are

needed to support the hatcheries. The

generation of data necessary to gain

approval of a drug is costly. Private

drug and chemical companies cannot

justify the capital investment to

develop aquaculture drugs. To

address this problem, a partnership

was formed between the States,

Federal aquaculture advocacy agencies, and private drug companies to

develop seven drugs and one anesthetic for public aquaculture. The

Federal-State Drug Approval Partnership, a project of the International

Association of Fish and Wildlife

Agencies, represents the largest and

most comprehensive effort ever

undertaken on behalf of public

aquaculture. Because of its expertise

in this area, the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

in La Crosse has the leadership role

to provide scientific oversight and

coordination for the project and to

conduct a variety of studies required

by the FDA to support the drug

approvals. Research has been completed that, when accepted by FDA,

will allow the use of three new

waterborne drugs for all 55 cultured

freshwater fishes. When the project is

completed (now scheduled for 2002),

Figure 1. Nonpoint pollution

monitoring sites.

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approvals will be obtained for five

waterborne drugs, two oral drugs and

one anesthetic. Supplied with a newly

stocked medicine chest, public

aquaculture facilities across the

country will be able to produce the

many species required to support

America’s popular recreational

fishing activities.

Geochemical Background and

Baselines, Northern Wisconsin

Background geochemical surveys

describe the concentrations of major

and trace chemical elements and their

natural variations across wide areas

and between various earth materials

within individual areas. This information is essential for assessing the

effects of natural and human-induced

chemical signatures on the environment and human health. This ongoing

study is exploring methods needed to

conduct background evaluations in

glaciated areas, while assessing the

background geochemical aspects of

the Chequamegon National Forest

and Isle Royale National Park. The

study is in collaboration with the US

Forest Service, which is concerned

with land-use decisions in the Forest;

the Bureau of Land Management,

which anticipates writing an Environmental Impact Statement on the Bend

massive sulfide deposit within the

Forest; the National Park Service,

which is concerned with factors that

may be contributing to high mercury

levels in fish, such as mercury levels

in soils and glacial material around

known mineralized areas; the Wisconsin Geological and Natural

History Survey, which has expertise

on the glacial geology of the region

and geology of Pleistocene deposits

in the project area; and the University

of Wisconsin/Wisconsin Dept. of

Natural Resources, which is dating

and analyzing lake sediment cores

from the mercury-impacted lakes in

the National Park.

Topographic Map Revision

The USGS has developed a strategy

to help identify the 7.5-minute

topographic maps that are in highest

demand and that need revision. This

plan uses monthly map sales as one

criterion to determine the demand and

to set priorities in the map revision

process. Those maps that need to be

revised and are in high demand will

be authorized. In Wisconsin, the

Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, and Greendale 1:24,000-scale topographic maps

will be revised using this strategy.

National Wildlife Health Center

The USGS’s National Wildlife Health

Center, in Madison, provides Federal

and State land-management agencies

with information, technical assistance, and research on national and

international wildlife disease and

health issues. USGS scientists have

forged strong partnerships with

several Wisconsin programs including the University of WisconsinMadison, University of WisconsinStevens Point, the DNR, and private

entities such as the International

Crane Foundation. This unique

facility is equipped with state-of-theart disease-containment laboratories

designed to meet the criteria established by the Centers for Disease

Control and the National Institutes of

Health for working with all but the

most infectious agents. The Center

has a national mission to monitor and

assess the impact of disease on

wildlife populations; investigate the

ecological relationships leading to the

occurrence of disease in freeranging

wildlife; and provide on-site support

for wildlife disease emergencies, as

well as guidance, training, and

technical information for reducing

wildlife losses when outbreaks occur.

Current Wisconsin activities include

mortality investigations of wolves,

bald eagles, and trumpeter swans for

the Wisconsin DNR; collaborative

studies with the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin DNR on the

causes of deformities and disease

outbreaks in frogs (fig. 2) and salamanders; investigation of an exotic

waterfowl parasite in central Wisconsin’s Shawano Lake; and the assessment of fishing sinkers as a cause of

lead poisoning in fish-eating birds.

Mercury Contamination

USGS research in the late 1980’s

identified widespread mercury

contamination of game fish from

lakes in Wisconsin. In most cases, the

affected lakes were remote and the

source of mercury was not apparent.

Careful study showed that the dominant source of the mercury was

atmospheric deposition, and that

long-range transport from point

sources (for example, coal-burning

and waste-incineration facilities)

were the primary contaminant

sources. This research was the first of

its kind, and it led to the development

of expertise in the specialized field of

the chemistry of environmental

mercury. After completion of the

work in Wisconsin, it was shown that

mercury is a global pollutant, and that

Figure 2. Deformed frog captured

during a study of deformities and

disease in amphibians.
Wisconsin

all aquatic ecosystems are affected by

mercury contamination to some

degree. Highly specialized sampling

and analytical methods usually are

required to quantify the extremely

low levels of mercury found in most

environmental samples (water,

sediment, and tissues). Current

research activities are focused toward

determining what differentiates

sensitive ecosystems, in which

accumulation of mercury in the food

web is acute, from those that are more

buffered from this problem. The

USGS Mercury Research Laboratory,

in Middleton is participating in

studies of mercury contamination of

aquatic ecosystems across the conterminous U.S. and in Alaska and

Hawaii. The overall objective of this

work is to identify those factors that

control mercury contamination of

food webs, including mercury loading, landscape effects (watershed

size, wetland density, climate, geology), and chemical effects (pH,

dissolved organic carbon, sulfate).

The mercury research team conducts

these studies in collaboration with

other Federal and State agencies and

with private research laboratories.

Mineral Resources in the Upper

Midwest

This USGS-led study is intended to

provide the information necessary to

complete a qualitative (or, where

possible, quantitative) regional or

national mineral-resource assessment;

address regional land-use questions,

mineral development and mineralsrelated environmental issues; determine those areas for which information is lacking and need special

attention; and provide regional

datasets for incorporation in national

databases. Toward this effort, the

project has recently released a new,

digital geologic map of the Great

Lakes Region, and is acquiring new

aeromagnetic data for southern

Wisconsin. Current collaborators

include the Minnesota Geological

Survey; the Minnesota Department of

Natural Resources; the Wisconsin

Geological and Historical Survey; the

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh;

the University of Western Illinois; the

Department of Terrestrial Magnetism,

Carnegie Institution of Washington;

and the University of MinnesotaDuluth. Clients include the DNR, the

Minnesota Department of Natural

Resources, the Wisconsin Recycling

Market Development Board, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture Forest

Service, the National Park Service,

and the minerals industry.

NAPP Coverage and Mapping

Partnerships

New aerial photographs of Wisconsin

are being obtained by the National

Aerial Photography Program (NAPP).

The USGS, through the NAPP

steering committee (which includes

representation from many Federal

natural-resource agencies), has

contracted to acquire the remainder of

the 1:40,000-scale leaf-off, blackand-white photographs that were

begun in the spring of 1998. Complete statewide coverage may take as

long as 3 years because of weather

conditions and a short flying season.

When the project is complete, the

photographs will be used by the

USGS for revision of maps and

production of digital orthophotos

(DOP). A DOP is a computer-generated image of an aerial photograph

that has the geometric qualities of a

map. The USGS and the State Cartographer’s Office of Wisconsin are

working together to facilitate the

completion of DOP coverage of the

State. One proposal is to use existing

DOP’s that were made for use by

cities or counties and to reformat

them to comply with USGS DOP

quarter-quadrangle standards. The

State Cartographer’s Office and the

USGS are investigating whether those

DOP’s can be converted into the

USGS digital orthophoto quadrangle

format at a cost savings for all

concerned.

Ground-Water Hydrology of

Southeastern Wisconsin

Southeastern Wisconsin has one of

the most rapidly growing populations

of the State, and in 1996 the area

contained about 37 percent of the

State’s population. The economic

growth and urban development of this

area are partly due to the abundant

water supply. Lake Michigan is the

source for about 70 percent of the

water supply, mainly for the lakeshore counties of Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, which are

principally in the Great Lakes Basin

(fig. 3). The counties of Washington,

Waukesha, and Walworth (in the

Mississippi River Basin) rely on

ground water for most of their needs

because of the strict legal limits on

the transfer of water from the Great

Lakes basin to the Mississippi River

Basin.

Because substantial economic growth

is occurring and probably will

continue in the areas that rely on

ground water, there is a need for

better management of ground-water

resources. If it is assumed that the

increase in ground-water use will be

proportional to increases in population, then ground-water use might be

expected to increase from about 93

Mgd (million gallons per day) in

1995 to about 140 Mgd by the year

2020. Water-level declines in the deep

aquifer over the last 50 years range

from 6 to 10 feet per year. Cones of

depression centered on Milwaukee,

Waukesha, and Chicago have intersected so that pumping in one area

affects water levels in other areas.

Early researchers generalized the

deep ground-water system in Southeastern Wisconsin as a “sandstone”

aquifer comprising Cambrian-
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Middleton, WI 53562-3581

(608) 821-3801

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Ordovician age sandstone and

dolomite, confined by an over-lying

thick shale formation. Later studies

split the sandstone aquifer into

several aquifers and confining units.

Although several ground-water flow

models have been developed, no

attempt has been made to simulate

the interaction of the shallow aquifers, which consist of dolomite and

unlithified materials, with the deeper

ground-water systems. The interconnection and relation between the

shallow and deep ground-water

systems in the Southeastern Wisconsin is not well understood, and

requires further evaluation.

Because of the complexity of the

ground-water system, it probably is

most effectively studied by the

development and application of a

numerical flow model in which the

system is represented by multiple

aquifers and confining units. Although most existing high-capacity

wells are completed in the sandstone

aquifer, it is likely that a higher

proportion of future water-supply

wells will be installed in the shallow

aquifers. This shift is expected not

only as a way of limiting the excessive drawdown in the deeper system,

but also as a way to blend deeper

water characterized by increasing

radium and salt concentrations with

lower-concentration shallow water.

Long-term management and protection of the entire ground-water

resource requires an understanding of

the interactions between the multiple

aquifers underlying the region. A

planned new study (fig. 3) conducted

by the USGS in cooperation with the

Wisconsin Geological and Natural

History Survey and the Southeastern

Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is intended to create an

information base and a better conceptual understanding of the groundwater flow systems, both shallow and

deep, and their response to urban

development and water use; develop

and refine management tools (conceptual and numerical models) that

will be useful in water-resource

management decisionmaking on a

continuing basis and; use these tools

to evaluate proposed management

applications to prevent or minimize

these adverse effects of urbanization

and ground-water withdrawals.

Figure 3. Area of intense ground-water study in the seven southeastern counties

of Wisconsin.

Ozaukee

Waukesha

Milwaukee

Walworth

Kenosha

Lake Michigan

Wisconsin

Illinois

Approximate

location of divide

between the Great Lakes

and Mississippi Basins.

Racine

Washington

The USGS has 325 

employees in Wisconsin

Madison

Ashland

La Crosse

Merrill

Middleton

Milwaukee

Rice Lake

Oshkosh

Stevens Point

Ground-water flow model simulation

results and information will be useful

to a wide variety of Federal, State and

local agencies. The study is intended

to provide needed information and

guidance on potential management

strategies to the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, the DNR and municipal water

utilities.