Water Quality

Winnebago County has more than 91,000 acres of surface water—the largest area of inland surface water of any county in Wisconsin.

• These waters lie within 75 miles of over 2 million people and see heavy recreational use for fishing, boating, swimming, hunting, and trapping.
• Lake Winnebago alone supplies drinking water to over 200,000 people in Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Sherwood, and Waverly. 

Water Quality Concerns

• Most major water bodies in Winnebago County are listed as impaired under Wisconsin DNR’s 303(d) list and require further restoration efforts.
• Under the Clean Water Act (1972), states must identify impaired waterbodies that remain degraded even after controlling pollution from point sources (e.g., industrial or municipal discharges).
• Decades of high water levels, combined with wind, wave, and ice erosion, have destroyed tens of thousands of acres of shoreline wetlands. This loss of natural filtration has increased runoff of sediment and nutrients into local waters.
  
   

Nonpoint source pollution, also known as polluted runoff is one of the main threats to water quality in Wisconsin.

• It occurs when rain or snowmelt moves across or through the ground, picking up natural and human-made pollutants and carrying them into rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater.
• These pollutants include sediment, nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, fertilizers, oil, grease, and bacteria. They come from agricultural fields, urban areas, and residential properties.
• The Land & Water Conservation Department assists landowners and producers with installing conservation practices that will reduce sediment and phosphorous runoff.

Sediment 

• In farm areas, tilled fields are a major source of sediment. Conventional tillage leaves soil exposed, with little vegetation or plant residue to hold it in place, increasing erosion and runoff.
• Sediment pollution clouds the water, harms aquatic life, reduces water quality, and raises the cost of water treatment. It results from erosion that washes sand, silt, clay, and other materials into nearby water bodies.
• A single dump truck can hold up to 10 tons of soil (or sediment). Conservation practices implemented by Winnebago County LWCD prevent an average of 1,400 tons of sediment runoff each year.

Phosphorus

• Both urban and rural runoff contains phosphorus, a nutrient that promotes excessive algae and weed growth in water bodies. When phosphorus levels rise, it can lead to harmful algal blooms that disrupt recreation and damage ecosystems.
• Phosphorous can also be found in a soluble form. Urban sources of phosphorous include lawn fertilizers, pollen, leaves, grass and orthophosphate in vehicle exhaust.
• Just one pound of phosphorus can generate 300–500 pounds of algae. Conservation practices in Winnebago County reduce phosphorus runoff by an average of 2,700 pounds annually.
   

Land & Water Resource Management Plan 2021-2030

• The Plan
• The 5 Year Review
• Annual Reports (All 10 years)...and then Muddy Bottom, NOPP?, Link to our partners? WI L+W Annual report, fox wolf, demo Farms, etc.
• Couple graphics from this year???? of reductions?
• EVAL Map???

Other Plans?

Winnebago County LWCD Annual Reports