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The statewide average precipitation of 33.37 inches for the 1996 water year was 105 percent of the normal annual precipitation of 31.79 inches for water years 1961-90. Average precipitation values ranged from 77 percent of normal at Trempealeau Dam 6 weather station in west central Wisconsin to 151 percent of...

Pretty Lake is a 64 acre, sandy-bottomed groundwater flow-through lake that has a history of hydrologic disturbance. Residents and regulators require a better understanding of lake-groundwater interaction to develop measures to protect the lake's hydrologic system and water quality. A groundwater flow model was constructed as a tool to synthesize...

 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has served as the Nation’s principal collector, repository, and interpreter of earth science data for more than a century. In this capacity, the USGS in Wisconsin works in partnership with State, county, municipal public works departments, public health agencies, water and sanitation districts, Indian agencies,...

Unconsolidated glacial sand and gravel deposits provide virtually all water used by residents of the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation.  Well yields of 10 to 20 gallons per minutecan be obtained from these deposits throughoutthe reservation. Yields of 1,200 gallons perminute are obtained from wells for a fish-rearingfacility near the...

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began full implementation of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The goals of the NAWQA program are to (1) provide a nationally consistent descrip- tion of water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's water resources, (2) define long-term trends (or lack...

Ground-water samples were collected during the summer of 1995 from 29 wells in the western part of the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages study unit of the National-Water Quality Assessment Program. Analyses of ground-water samples from these wells were used to provide an indication of waterquality conditions...

Government agencies, academic institutions, and volunteer monitoring groups in the State of Wisconsin collect aquatic macroinvertebrate data to assess water quality. Sampling methods differ among agencies, reflecting the differences in the sampling objectives of each agency. Lack of infor- mation about data comparability impedes data shar- ing among agencies, which...

This report summarizes aquatic biological studies relevant to water-quality assessment that have been done in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages from 1891 to 1996. The objective of the summary was to compile sources of biological data for the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The studies are divided into...

This study describes the benthic invertebrate communities of 20 benchmark streams in agricultural areas of eastern Wisconsin. Streams with minimal adverse effects from human activity were selected from four agricultural areas with differing surficial deposits and bedrock types (relatively homogeneous units, or RHU's). Most aquatic invertebrate orders were well represented...

Water-quality data were compiled from four urban stormwater monitoring projects conducted in Wisconsin between 1989 and 1994. These projects included monitoring in both storm-sewer pipes and urban streams. A total of 147 constitu ents were analyzed for in stormwater sampled from 10 storm-sewer pipes and four urban streams. Land uses...

Water and phosphorus budgets were determined for the Lauderdale Lakes (the interconnected Green, Middle, and Mill Lakes) in Walworth County, southeastern Wisconsin to provide background information for a wastewater management plan to limit the input of phosphorus to the lakes. The most significant components of the water and phosphorus budgets...

The sand and gravel aquifer in the vicinity of the Wild Rose State Fish Hatchery is approximately 200 feet thick. The aquifer consists mostly of sand that was deposited as glacial till and outwash approximately 15,000 years ago. Hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer at the hatchery, calculated from slug tests,...

The quality of runoff from residential lawns is a concern for municipal stormwater management programs. Land-use based computer models are increasingly being used to assess the impact of lawn runoff on urban watersheds. To accurately model the runoff for residential lawns, the variation in the relation of rainfall to runoff...

Park Lake extends to the northeast from the village of Pardeeville in Columbia County (fig. 1). Local residents perceive water-quality problems in the lake that include excessive algae and aquatic plant growth. Algae and plant growth in a lake are controlled, in part, by the availability of phosphorus in the...

During 1993-95, water samples were collected at nine sites on eight streams in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages to attempt to determine pesticide concentrations. The sampling effort was part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Pesticides analyzed for were 58 herbicides and 30 insecticides. Pesticides...

Jackson Creek Wetland a 95-acre shallow prairie marsh containing three sediment retention ponds was constructed in 1992 to reduce sediment and nutrient in- flow to eutrophic Delavan Lake. The function of the wetland as a retention system for suspended sediments and nutrients (total and dissolved phosphorus, total ammonia plus organic...

Would you like to know streamflow conditions before you go fishing in Wisconsin or in more distant locations? Real-time streamflow data throughout Wisconsin and the United States are available on the Internet from the U.S. Geological Survey. You can see if the stream you are interested in fishing is high...

In most rivers, transport of various constituents occurs largely during short-term, high-intensity events. A method is described to make regionalized estimates of the long-term average loads of selected streamwater constituents, as well as loads occurring during high-flow events with specified recurrence intervals. This method is used to estimate the load...

Stream habitat characteristics were measured at twenty sites in agricultural areas of eastern Wisconsin by the U.S. Geological Survey in May and June, 1993 as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program Western Lake Michigan Drainages study unit. These "benchmark" stream sites were selected for study to represent standards of...

In 1986, Congress appropriated funds for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop the pilot phase of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to (1) provide a nationally consistent description of current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's water resources;...

This report describes the environmental setting of 20 benchmark streams in agricultural areas of eastern Wisconsin that are part of the Western Lake Michigan Drainages, National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Benchmark streams are defined as those that show minimal adverse effects from human activity, and they were selected on the basis...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local and other agencies, collects data at selected lakes throughout Wisconsin. These data, accumulated over many years, provide a data base for developing an improved understanding of the water quality of lakes. To make these data available to interested parties outside the...

North Fish Creek is underused as a trout and salmon hatchery despite its excellent water quality. The shifting-sand streambed in the lower 9 miles of the stream inhibits successful spawning and is a poor habitat for macroinvertebrates, the primary food for juvenile trout and salmon. To provide data necessary for...

In 1992, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a land-use inventory to identify sources of pollutants and track the land-management changes for eight evaluation monitoring watersheds established as part of the WDNR's Nonpoint Source Program. Each evaluation monitoring watershed is within...

The U.S. Geological Survey collected Stormwater samples from eight Lake Superior Basin cities to determine the quality of urban runoff entering Lake Superior from urban areas. The samples were collected during July 1993-September 1994 from storm sewers in Ishpeming, Negaunee, Sault Ste. Marie, and Houghton, Michigan; Virginia and Ribbing, Minnesota;...