Concerned citizens bite on state motor trolling proposal

Concerned citizens bite on state motor trolling proposal

By Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June 1, 2014
Among conservation matters, changes to deer hunting rules typically draw the strongest reactions in Wisconsin.

That will likely be true for as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

But for at least one day, our “other religion” took a back seat to an angling issue.

Meeting Wednesday in Green Bay, the Natural Resources Board heard not a single objection to a proposal to sharply reduce antlerless deer permits in northern Wisconsin, but it got an earful from folks opposed to motor trolling in the same region.

The public input prompted the board to modify a rule presented by the Department of Natural Resources.

The issue at hand was an expansion of motor trolling in Wisconsin. The DNR proposal, which 62 percent of voters supported at the spring hearings, would allow motor trolling with at least one line per angler statewide and three lines per angler in most counties.

Under current regulations, 19 counties allow motor trolling on all waters, 45 counties allow it on one or more waters (105 total waters) and eight counties don’t allow the practice.

DNR fisheries staff presented the rule change to: simplify regulations by eliminating confusion about where trolling is allowed; allow anglers in moving boats to simultaneously trail suckers and cast lures; eliminate the need for disabled anglers to apply for trolling permits; and provide additional fishing opportunities for anglers who might have difficulty fishing by other means.

Moreover, the agency presented data that showed motor trolling had no biological impact on fish populations, specifically muskies.

But a half dozen residents of northern Wisconsin voiced their strong opposition to expanded motor trolling.

“I’m very much against the one-line trolling proposal,” said John Dettloff, a fishing guide and resort owner from Couderay. “I’m concerned it’s going to put additional stress on our already-fragile musky fishery.”

Dettloff also said it could “hurt the aesthetics” of some north woods waters by increasing boat traffic.

“Please don’t let the genie out of the bottle,” Dettloff said. “Once trolling is allowed I feel it’s going to be very difficult to reverse.”

Art Long, Jim and Ann McComas, Rich Reinert, and Anthony Rizzo also expressed their displeasure.

Only one angler, John Aschenbrenner of Laona, showed up to support the proposal at Wednesday’s meeting.

Many people in the fishing community probably felt they had spoken with their vote at the spring hearings.

“I think Wisconsin needs more opportunities like this to get more people involved in fishing,” Aschenbrenner said.

The board debated several changes to the DNR proposal, including removing Vilas and perhaps other counties from the rule.

DNR fisheries manager Tim Simonson said the agency’s musky committee had been working on the issue for three years.

“We wouldn’t recommend anything that we thought would be detrimental to musky populations,” Simonson said.

In the end, the board decided to approve the proposal under a three-year sunset provision and by limiting the number of lines per boat in certain waters.

Beginning in 2015, the rule approved Wednesday would:

• Allow motor trolling with at least one line per angler on all inland waters in Wisconsin.

• In 55 counties, all inland waters would be open to motor trolling with up to three lines per angler.

• In the remaining 17 counties—on waters not currently open to trolling—trolling would be allowed but would be limited to one line per angler and no more than two lines per boat, which means no more than two anglers trolling at a time. This portion of the rule would affect Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Iron, Jackson, Lincoln, Marathon, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oneida, Ozaukee, Sawyer, Sheboygan, Vilas, Washington and Waushara counties.

The three-year sunset clause means the new rule, which would take effect next year pending legislative review, will revert to the current rule in 2018 unless the board takes additional action.

The DNR would use the coming years to gather data on catch rates, harvest rates and fish populations on waters affected by the expanded trolling opportunities to help guide recommendations on any permanent motor trolling rules.

“Trolling has generated always generated some controversy,” Simonson said. “We’ve addressed it by presenting the most objective data possible. Assuming the legislature doesn’t change anything, we’ll approach the three year period the same way, monitoring the changes and presenting information to the decision-makers.”

Antlerless quotas: The board approved the DNR’s plan to prohibit hunting of antlerless deer in all or part of 19 counties this year. The move is designed to help deer herds recover after two consecutive severe winters, according to the agency, and it has received broad public support.

The zero quotas would cover the entire northern forest region and part of the central forest. In addition, the rule approved antlerless quotas and permit levels for counties throughout the state. In a change resulting from the deer trustee report, bonus antlerless deer tags this year are specific to counties and private or public land.

Each 2014 deer hunting license includes one antlerless tag that may be used on any property in a farmland zone during any season. Extra tags (if available) must be purchased for $12 each.

The DNR will sell 149,475 private land and 23,020 public land antlerless tags this year. The disparity is intended to prevent over-harvest on heavily hunted public properties.

The sales will be staggered, similar to the way leftover spring turkey permits are sold. Forest zone permits will be sold Aug. 18, central farmland zone permits Aug. 19 and southern farmland permits Aug. 20. All sales begin at 10 a.m.

The pipeline passes under the Rock River south of Fort Atkinson just north of Lake Koshkonong

Pipeline upgrades affect Rock, Walworth counties


Enbridge, the Canadian energy company, is upgrading pumps that service the oil pipeline that travels through Wisconsin. Some officials and residents are concerned about the possible impact.
By Catherine W. Idzerda

TOWN OF LIMA--More crude oil will flow through the northeast corner of Rock County and Walworth County if a Canadian energy company gets the go-ahead for upgrades.

Enbridge, an energy company based in Calgary, Alberta, hopes to complete upgrades to four pumping stations--including one in northeast Rock County--in 2014 as part of a project to increase its ability to move crude oil from Canada and North Dakota to refineries in the Great Lakes region. A second phase of pump station upgrades is planned in 2015.

Supporters see the Wisconsin pipeline and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf Coast as critical tools in reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Enbridge's Delavan pump station is located off  Highway 59 in the town of Lima in Rock County, about 25 miles northwest of Delavan.

From that station, the pipeline heads in two directions: southeast through Walworth County toward Chicago and south.

The pipeline, which is referred to as Line 61, has been in use since 2009.

“Around that time, there was an economic decline, and the economy was a little slack,” said Becky Haase, Enbridge spokesperson. “Things are changing. The economy is getting back on its feet.”

The pipeline has been carrying about 400,000 barrels per day.

Demand is up, and the company wants to increase the flow to the pipeline's capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day. The revamped pipeline is scheduled to be in operation in 2016.

According to Enbridge, its pipelines are:

-Built with high-quality steel pipe and are factory- and field-tested.

-Inspected at every weld, “far exceeding the required 10 percent sampling mandated by federal regulation.”

-Pressure-tested with water “at levels above the authorized operating pressure.”

-Monitored 24 hours a day by computerized systems and controllers. Flow-rate alarms and abnormal changes in pipeline pressure would prompt either a computerized shutdown of the line, or control room operators would shut down the system “within minutes.”

The last statement doesn't reassure environmentalists and others who remember the 2010 pipeline spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

On July 25, 2010, alarms went off in Enbridge's control room indicating that a pipeline had burst.

Three shifts of pipeline operators misinterpreted those signals, according to a 2012 report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The safety board blamed the company for failing to follow its own safety protocol, and it also blamed the federal government for failing to give its Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration the “staff or regulatory muscle to safeguard the public,” according to a 2012 National Public Radio story.

At the time, Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairwoman, said it wasn't until “17 hours and 19 minutes after the rupture that a worker from a local gas utility found the spill and notified the Enbridge control center.”

More than 800,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into wetlands, a creek and the Kalamazoo River.

As of April 2013, the spill has cost more than $1 billion to clean up. That's in part because the pipe was carrying tar sands, a type of crude that is much heavier than  regular crude.

In order to travel through the pipeline, the crude oil is diluted with a lighter hydrocarbon mixture that is not unlike gasoline, said Stephen Hamilton, the Michigan state ecology professor who serves as a science adviser for the Kalamazoo spill.

When a spill occurs in water, that material evaporates quickly, he said, and the remaining crude floats briefly before sinking to the bottom.

That evaporation releases a variety of chemicals, including benzene, a substance that causes health problems ranging from nervous system issues to cancer.

Enbridge also paid $1.1 million to settle claimsby the DNR and the state Department of Justice that numerous environmental laws were broken during construction of the initial phase of its pipeline system in Wisconsin in 2007 and 2008. The forfeiture involved more than 100 environmental violations in 14 counties.

An Enbridge spokeswoman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the company has spent more than $4 billion in the past two years to upgrade safety and inspection of its pipeline system and other related costs.

For Jefferson County Board Supervisor Walt Christensen, “it's kind of hard to rank” the potential dangers of the pipeline.

“My understanding is that the pipeline was built to handle the volume and pressure described in documents as 1.2 million barrels per day,” Christensen wrote in an e-mail. “However, that was six years ago, and since then we have seen a lot of pipeline failures.

"I believe the high number of failures reveals a greater risk than anyone planned for and so the risk-benefit ratio should be re-examined before allowing the pipe to be stressed at full pressure.”

Christensen's resolution opposing a DNR air permit for the project and asking for an environmental assessment passed at the Jefferson County Board's May meeting.

Among the resolution's points:

-The pipeline passes under the Rock River south of Fort Atkinson just north of Lake Koshkonong.

-The material transported in the pipeline is tar sands, which is more corrosive and acidic than traditional oil and leads to about 3.6 times more spills per mile.

-The DNR only held one public hearing on the issue, and that was in Superior.

-Failure would constitute a “significant threat to the waters and property values of Jefferson County because at peak operation, this pipeline will carry more oil than the proposed Keystone Pipeline.”

Along with the possibility of a big spill, Christensen is concerned that the pipeline could be—and perhaps already is—an “oozing menace.”

Given the amount of crude traveling through the pipeline, even the most sensitive system might not pick up small leaks, he said..

The only approval that Enbridge needs is from the DNR for an air permit for work on its Superior pumping station. The comment period on that request has ended.

The DNR has 60 days to make a decision, according to a story in the Journal Sentinel.  The decision would be delayed if the DNR conducts an environmental analysis, the story said. .

Pipeline is under Rock River near Fort Atkinson

Volunteers needed to monitor health of Rock County streams

Volunteers needed to monitor health of Rock County streams

Anna Marie Lux
May 28, 2014

Jennifer Du Puis/jdupuis@gazette
Chuck Heidt, a Water Action Volunteer, measures the cloudiness of Turtle Creek in Beloit after a heavy rainfall Wednesday. Heidt has been a part of WAV for 12 years.

IF YOU GO


What: Free volunteer training to become a stream monitor


When: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, May 31.


Where: Turtle Creek Parkway, 6528 S. Smith Road, Clinton.


Details: Pre-registration is required. Call Nancy Sheehan, Rock River Coalition stream monitoring coordinator, at 608-515-9434 or email nancy@rockrivercoalition.org.


For information on Rock River Coalition, visit rockrivercoalition.org.


For information on stream monitoring, visit http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/wav/monitoring.




ROCK COUNTY--Chuck Heidt doesn't mind getting his feet wet, especially if it ensures good fishing for smallmouth bass.

He samples water from Turtle Creek in Beloit monthly from April through October.

Chuck is not with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Nor is he a biologist. He is a volunteer who has monitored the creek for 12 years.

“I fish throughout the state,” Chuck said. “That's part of my interest in water quality.”

Chuck measures important elements of stream health including temperature, water clarity and dissolved oxygen.

Sound interesting?

Three agencies are hosting a workshop Saturday at Turtle Creek Parkway, Clinton, for people who want to learn how to monitor streams.

Volunteers will become part of an important statewide network.

“There has been a large budget cut with the DNR for the whole Rock River Basin,” said Nancy Sheehan of the nonprofit Rock River Coalition. “We only have two stream biologists to monitor more than 2,000 miles of tributaries. This is why we really need citizens to get involved.”

The coalition's mission is to educate and to provide opportunities for people to improve the river basin.

Sheehan coordinates volunteer stream monitoring. She shows people how to use equipment provided by the coalition. She also teaches them how to determine water quality by identifying insects in a stream.

The coalition and Rock County Land Conservation and Rock County Parks departments organize the workshop, which is open to anyone who cares about clean water.

“The work is important,” said Anne Miller of the land conservation department. “Streams need people to care about what happens in watersheds and to keep them healthy.”

The river basin has five active teams of citizen monitors, she said.

More are needed to provide accurate and long-term information.

Volunteers can choose a stream based on personal interest or proximity to their homes. They also can have them assigned. Monitors are needed on Fisher Creek in Rockport Park, Otter Creek on Vickerman Road and the west branch of Raccoon Creek in Beckman Mill County Park, Sheehan said.

“We have sites that have been previously monitored by volunteers,” she explained. “When trying to determine trends in water quality, it's nice to have 10 years of data.”

Volunteers enter information into an online database. Anyone with web access can view the data by county, stream or site name.

The DNR is notified if a stream shows a decline in water quality.

“If oxygen ratings are low, for example, I contact stream biologists,” Sheehan said.

She encourages people to get involved.

“By returning to one site, you become an expert about that stream,” Sheehan said. “You also fall in love with a place and become a true advocate for it.”

- See more at: http://www.gazettextra.com/article/20140528/ARTICLES/140529725/1059#sthash.mFJxBWuc.dpuf

Rock River Flood Inundation Mapping Project Update

I wanted to let everyone know that Terry Zien, USACE St. Paul District, called me on Friday and advised that the USACE is still waiting for funding for the proposed Flood Inundation Mapping Project for the Rock River  (yes, it is still alive!)  The USACE is waiting for their FFY 14 budget and have been operating under a continuing resolution.  Those projects submitted last year are being considered for funding in the FFY14 budget.  Shirley Johnson along with WDNR have done some work, but can’t move forward until there is an approved budget.  Terry advised that they are expecting to receive funding soon.   

It’s like FEMA, we are still waiting for funding for last year’s PDM grants, yet FEMA is asking for applications for this year! 

In any event, I’m pleased that the project still has movement. 

Roxanne K. Gray

Mitigation Section Supervisor

State Hazard Mitigation Officer

608-242-3211

Lake Koshkonong Pelicans

Thanks to Jeff Brown for the photo.

Carp Seiners and Pelicans

Hi,

Yesterday my husband emailed about the dead fish and a pelican trapped in the fish nets.  This morning there is a dead pelican there.  We just want to pass this on, in case it is of concern to the Rock Koshkonong Association.

Bonnie Geyer

Observing the Carp Seiners

Mr. Christianson;                   April 13, 2014

On Friday the group completed a net activity and set up their pens in front of my  neighbor’s house. On Saturday morning I note that a majority of the fish in one pen are dead floating on their backs. The fish in the second pen were OK yesterday and seem to be OK today as well. I would believe there are more than 200 dead fish. The pens have become an attraction for the Pelicans. In trying to pull fish from the pen one was caught but now after 20 minutes it is loose and the Pelicans have left. My purpose in reporting this to you is that in case all these dead fish are not taken out but left in the Lake the death cause be known. Second leaving the pens up 24 hours or more risks Pelicans getting caught. If unable to free themselves and were to die we suspect publicity would be unfavorable. I do not know if the Pelicans would be attracted if there were not so many dead fish.

Regards

Jim geyer

Spring brings manure hazard

Spring brings manure hazard
By Lee Bergquist
   Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
   With warmer weather finally on the way, state officials are warning farmers and the public that there is a potentially high risk across most of Wisconsin for manure to pollute groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes.
   Following the highest number of manure spills in seven years in 2013, this year’s threat is due to melting snow and rainfall that could send soil and animal waste into streams.
   Under the right conditions, manure also could soak into aquifers, from which drinking water is drawn.
   Manure, an important source of fertilizer, contains bacteria, phosphorus and nitrogen, which can enrich soil. But if misapplied, it can pollute waterways and groundwater.
   So far, the seemingly endless winter has meant snow has melted gradually, which has kept manure runoff problems to a minimum, according to officials at the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
   With warmer temperatures and rain predicted over the next week, conditions could change quickly, officials say.
   The state agriculture department’s runoff risk advisory forecast is currently listed as “high” across most of Wisconsin. The system lets farmers and others check individual watersheds and judge the risk of spreading, based on soil moisture, snowpack, temperature, the forecast for rain and other factors.
   This month, the DNR and agriculture department spent more than $9,000 airing radio spots, warning farmers about proper spreading practices.
   The Journal Sentinel reported in December that farmers had the highest number of spills in 2013 in a seven-year period. Livestock operations spilled more than 1 million gallons of manure last year, which is less than 1 percent of manure produced by dairy cattle in Wisconsin.
   The data between 2007 and 2013 showed no clear trend, but state officials say there is growing awarenessof proper manure handling.
   Management and engineering issues can be a source of the problem, as evidenced last week when the DNR issued two notices of violation against a publicly financed manure digester in Dane County for environmental problems starting in 2012. The most recent spill occurred March 12.
   Still, weather is a major factor.
   “Conditions are worse this year than last year,” said Andrew Craig, a nutrient management specialist for the DNR.
   One factor that could compound any problems: Wisconsin’s largest dairy farms, with 700 or more cows, will soon be heading into the fields to start spreading.
   Known as CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations, the farms are prohibited from spreading manure in February and March, except in emergencies. Some are reaching the maximum capacity of their pits and must start emptying them soon.
   “This is go-like-hell time, that’s just the way it is, “ said David Eisentraut, of Eisentraut Ag Services, a Sheboygan County company that pumps manure from pits and spreads it on fields. “Winter’s running a little late, so everyone is very tight on storage.”
   Eisentraut and others who handle much of the spreading for large farms are days away from a frenzied period, moving farm to farm, draining pits and working the manure into the soil. The work has to be done before planting season.
   Unlike CAFOs, smaller farms aren’t required to follow plans that spell out how manure is applied to individual fields.
   But some smaller farms do. Today, 26 percent of all cropland is covered by such plans, a figure that is rising steadily.
   Lynn Utesch, a small-scale beef farmer in Kewaunee County and a critic of CAFOs, believes large farms are growing too quickly, outgrowing their ability to store manure.
   Too many farms are asking for emergency approval to spread manure on frozen ground, “where it’s going to end up right in our streams,” he said.

Cow Manure Hurting Water Quality

To our friends in Jefferson and Rock Counties!

Another manure release event in Dane County and a legal challenge to a DNR permit issued to a CAFO in Kewaunee County to conduct aerial spray irrigation of livestock manure. 

I've also attached a March 2013 letter from the Wisconsin office of the American Lung Association regarding the manure irrigation project.

And I just learned that CAFO advocates in Brown County are "whispering" with the Oneida Tribe about wonderful job opportunities from expanding manure spreading fields onto reservation lands.

The push by the agricultural industry and farm lobby to expand delivery of livestock manure to our rural land, water and air resources is relentless and I fear this problem is headed our way, environmental and public health be damned.

Sincerely,

Greg Farnham, Commissioner

Lake Sinissippi Improvement District

Hustisford, Wisconsin (Dodge County)

920 296-8771

www.lakesinissippi.org

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: greg farnham <waterdown@wildblue.net

Another uncontrolled manure release event.  Safe manure handling practices continue to be a bridge too far for CAFO owners and proponents, notwithstanding protestations by the agricultural industry and farm lobby to the contrary.

I'm concerned that Dodge County appears to demonstrate a caveat emptor attitude towards this issue.

The Land Conservation Committee last fall turned back an attempt to establish a county ordinance to enforce state law prohibiting winter spreading of manure next to lakes, rivers, streams and private wells.  County farmers and our own Land Conservation Department claimed that it was unnecessary to enforce the law.

And it appears the county still does not have a program to evaluate ground water protection despite the fact that the 2012 county land and water plan says that it does.  My February 5th letter to you remains unanswered.

I believe that the livestock manure contamination mess in Kewaunee County is headed our way, and I fear that our county is not going to be prepared to effectively protect our land and water resources and the health of our residents.

I hope our county departments with responsibilities in these matters don't rest on their laurels after having organized a water quality forum in February.  I encourage our county leaders to visit Kewaunee County, tour the spreading fields and talk with the community residents who are affected by CAFO manure.  The place to start is at Kewaunee Cares:   http://kewauneecares.wordpress.com/

Greg Farnham

Broken pipe releases manure at digester site

News Release Published: March 12, 2014 by the South Central Region

Contact(s): David Mosher, 608-275-3321 Bob Manwell, DNR communications, 608-275-3317

WAUNAKEE, Wis. - An estimated 35,000 gallons of manure spilled from a broken pipe at the community manure digesting facility north of Waunakee during the early morning hours of March 12. The break was discovered by an employee of Clear Horizons, LLC, operators of the facility.

Road Salt in Rock River, Lake Koshkonong

Andrea Anderson

January 13, 2014

As public works directors rush crews to spread salt and keep winter roads safe for drivers, they're balancing another concern: the environment.

A teaspoon of salt can contaminate five gallons of water, and salt trucks spread about 300 pounds of salt per mile.

“Personally, in Rock County, we are concerned because runoff goes to some of our lakes and rivers,” said Ben Coopman, Rock County highway commissioner.

“I think that is a statewide concern. But the biggest reason it doesn't seem to cause anything to change is the economics of it. There isn't a cheaper, more environmentally-friendly product out there," Coopman said.

Counties and municipalities have a responsibility to maintain clear roads for drivers, said Kevin Brunner, Walworth County public works director.

“We are trying to minimize salt,” Brunner said. “It's a tough balancing act because the expectation is bare pavement … (People) expect right after a storm to be able to get to wherever they have to get to.”

Residents bear some of the responsibility because they demand snow-free roads, said Connie Fortin, owner of Fortin Consulting, a Minnesota based environmental consulting firm.

“When you call and whine because your cul-de-sac is slippery or you can't get to work in 10 minutes, those guys just dump on more and more salt,” Fortin said. “Most homeowners have no idea what is happening to the lakes, rivers and ground water, and they don't know there is a negative side to complaining.”

THE IMPACT

Road salt affects water density and nutrient levels, causing changes in aquatic animal and plant life expectancy.

A study published in 2008 by the Ecological Society of America indicates road salt could travel up to 172 miles from a highway into wetlands, decreasing the survival rate of frogs and salamanders.

“It doesn't biodegrade, it doesn't break down, it doesn't go away,” Fortin said.  “Every winter we add this to our water and our lakes and our rivers and it has been accumulating for however many years we have been deicing.”

A 2010 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that all streams studied in eastern and south central Wisconsin had elevated chloride levels that at some point in winter exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chronic water quality criteria.

During the winter months, researchers found chloride levels greater than 10,000 milligrams per liter, higher than the water quality criteria of 230 milligrams per liter and acute water-quality criteria of 860 milligrams per liter. Aquatic animals begin to die when chloride levels are greater than 230 milligrams per liter.

“There isn't anything really out there yet that is environmentally friendly,” said Michael Sproul, Wisconsin Department of Transportation winter maintenance engineer.

“They are all chlorides of some sort, they all get into the ecosystem and pollute. The object is to use as little as possible, that is where we are trying to be more environmentally friendly. If we only use the amount of salt necessary to get the snow or ice in plowable form … then we're saving our environment," Sproul said.

THOUSANDS OF TONS

The amount of salt used each year is dependent on Mother Nature and pavement temperature. A salt truck typically drops 300 pounds of salt per lane mile. With the use of an additive, it goes down to about 200 pounds.

In the 2008-09 winter, Rock County and the municipalities it supplies used 1,612 tons of salt. The winter before, 8,685 tons were used. Last winter, 11,471 tons of salt were used, and this winter is shaping up to be about the same.

Rock County is responsible for maintaining 2,900 lane miles, the equivalent of a one-way trip to San Diego, Coopman said.

Until the mid-2000s, the county used a sand-salt mix. Now, it uses straight road salt, Coopman said.

Why not sand? Though the abrasive helps tires find a grip, when sand is mixed with salt, each reduces the effectiveness of the other.  Sand can be harmful, too. An Oregon Department of Transportation study in the early 1990s found 50 to 90 percent of sand applied to pavement remained in the environment after clean-up.

The rock salt sprinkled onto roads is effective until the temperature drops below 16 degrees. That's when additives, such as calcium chloride or magnesium chloride come in handy. They decrease the temperature that salt can melt ice to as low as minus 25 degrees.

The goal of deicing is not to melt the ice entirely but to break the adhesion between the pavement and the ice so plows can remove it later.

“In winter maintenance, the first priority is to plow,” Sproul said. “The goal is to only use the smallest amount of salt needed to melt and then be able to plow.”

So far this winter, Walworth County has used about 17,000 tons of its 30,000-ton salt supply, Brunner said. The county has an additional 2,750 tons on order.

County crews are responsible for maintaining Interstates, state highways and county roads. Town, village and city roads are the responsibility of the municipalities.

Walworth County is responsible for about 700 lane miles. That's compared to Whitewater, the county's largest city, which is responsible for about 50 lane miles, Brunner said.

THE ALTERNATIVES

The salt that county trucks sprinkle is pre-wet and has calcium chloride added. Pre-wetting helps the salt stick to the road.

“We pre-wet everything so it stays on the highway more,” Brunner said. “(We) found that by pre-wetting, about 30 percent more (salt) stays on highway.”

Public works directors, winter maintenance supervisors and environmentalists agree that 30 percent of dry salt broadcast onto roads bounces off and lands on road shoulders or nearby vegetation.

Salt that bounces onto road shoulders can kill trees and plants because they have a difficult time absorbing water with an increased salt content.

Pre-wetting cuts the amount of salt used about 25 percent because it has more melting power. It also reduces the bounce rate to 3 percent.

Only four counties in the state don't do pre-wetting, a method Sproul and Fortin recommend all counties use to protect their pocketbooks and the environment.

Area municipalities are coming up with creative ways to decrease the melting temperature and cut the costs of winter maintenance.

Beloit began adding beet juice to its salt several years ago. The juice is leftover after sugar is removed from sugar beets. Beet juice is used for deicing and anti-icing municipal roads.

Milwaukee is in the midst of a pilot program to use cheese brine, a product leftover from making cheese, to help pre-wet the roads and rock salt. Brine can be added to salt and then be applied before a snowstorm. It doesn't allow snow or ice to form a bond with the road, making it easier for plows to come through and clear the roads. Milwaukee sends trucks to Wisconsin's 140 cheese plants to pick up the brine. 

In Walworth County, county officials are taking a look at using Kikkoman soy sauce and mixing it with salt to make brine, Brunner said. Soy sauce has a high salt content that can expedite melting.

Fortin, who provides training for Minnesota and Wisconsin winter maintenance crews, understands that science has not come up with a complete alternative for salt, but she is adamant that there are practices that are better for the environment.

It starts with choosing plowing over salt and homeowners being proactive.

To minimize residential salt use, homeowners should shovel snow as it falls or before it's compacted by walking or driving, she said.

She also suggests homeowners use salt sparingly--no more than a half pound per 150 square feet. An average coffee mug can hold one pound of salt, and an average parking space is 150 square feet.

Koshkonong Shorelines Benefit

Deep freeze has some silver linings for the natural world

Associated Press

   TRAVERSE CITY, MICH.

   From a field station in northern Wisconsin, where the previous night’s low was a numbing 29 degrees below zero, climate scientist John Lenters studied computer images of ice floes on Lake Superior with delight.

   It may be hard to think of this week’s deep freeze as anything but miserable, but to scientists like Lenters there are silver linings: The extreme cold may help raise low water in the Great Lakes, protect shorelines and wetlands from erosion, kill insect pests and slow the migration of invasive species.

   “All around, it’s a positive thing,” Lenters, a specialist in the climate of lakes and watersheds, said Wednesday.

   Ice cover on the Great Lakes has been shrinking for decades, but this year more than 60 percent of the surface is expected to freeze over at some point—an occurrence that could help the lakes rebound from a prolonged slump in water levels.

   Even agriculture can benefit. Although cold weather is generally no friend to crops, some of southern Florida’s citrus fruits can use a perfectly timed cool-down, which they were getting as midweek temperatures hovered around freezing.

   “A good cold snap lowers the acidity in oranges and increases sugar content, sweetens the fruit,” said Frankie Hall, policy director for the Florida Farm Bureau Federation. “It’s almost been a blessing .”

   Scientists noted that subzero temperatures and pounding snowfalls like those that gripped much of the nation for several days are not unheardof in the Midwest and Northeast and used to happen more frequently.

   For all the misery it inflicted, the polar vortex that created the painfully frigid conditions apparently broke no alltime records in any major U.S. cities, according to Jeff Masters, meteorology director of Weather Underground.

Ag Run-off Map

Farmers Asked to Help With Runoff Issues into Lakes and Streams

Phosphorous Runoff

...Nutrient runoff and livestock manure contain phosphorus that travels through the Yahara Watershed — an area starting with the Yahara River near De Forest, running through Cherokee Marsh, including Lakes Mendota, Monona, Kegonsa and Waubesa, and ending at the Rock River. phosphorus contributes to unnatural weed growth and algae blooms...

Damaged Carp Gate at Mud Lake

Part of the Experimental Dredge project from earlier this year included repairing and replacing the Carp Gate at Mud Lake.  Mud Lake is a prolific walleye and northern fish habitat.  So in addition to working well with the WI DNR, and the US Army Corp. of Engineers, RKLD proved once again that not EVERY wetland/duck hunting club wants to fight and invent reasons to attack the RKLD.

RKLD is a champion for ALL user groups on Lake Koshkonong and the Rock River.

Where is the REAL OHWM?

RKLD is already collecting data - we are examining the OHWM and whether hunters and fisherman can access more public areas on the lake.

In some cases, wetland owners may be claiming public waterways as private property.

___________________________

Brian..

 

Below is information about the Rock River flood inundation pilot project.   See the link for the Cedar River-Cedar Rapids, IA river gauge for an example of what flood inundation mapping is like.  Let me know if you are interested in getting on an e-mail list for the meeting or conference call in early 2014. 

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Brian Hahn-Service Hydrologist  12/10  635 pm

National Weather Service-Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI

N3533 Hardscrabble Road

Dousman, WI 53118

Excellent Reply to the Water Quality article on Manure Spills

Well said Greg Farnham!

______________________________________

Richard:

The attached article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlights the fact that this year our state has experienced the largest volume of livestock manure spills since 2007.  Notwithstanding the implications of this appalling statistic, you are quoted as:

"What can I say,  'Manure happens.'"

I consider this comment dismissive and arrogant.  I might expect such a reply from a representative of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, but not from an educator with the University of Wisconsin System.

According to the article, the "UW's showplace for agriculture research" in Arlington has been for years a flagrant violator of safe manure handling practices.  Is this the performance standard for management and faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences?

There are hundreds of dedicated private individuals statewide serving as commissioners of lake management districts, directors of lake and river associations and volunteers with other water conservation and public health organizations who are working tirelessly in an effort to protect our surface waters and groundwater from manure contamination.

An apparent shoulder shrug from a CALS dean with the comment "manure happens" is an unacceptable response to the serious manure pollution problems in this state.

Sincerely,

Greg Farnham, Commissioner

Lake Sinissippi Improvement District

Hustisford, Wisconsin

Water Quality Issues

At our 2013 Annual Meeting of Electors, this issue was raised repeatedly that RKLD should involve ourselves in improving water quality of Lake Koshkonong.  While the entire Board agreed with those concerns, the article below is a good example of what our Board, Lake, River and property owners are up against.
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Manure spills in 2013 the highest in seven years statewide
By Lee Bergquist and Kevin Crowe of the Journal Sentinel

Dec. 5, 2013

Wisconsin farms this year generated the largest volume of manure spills since 2007, including an accident by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's flagship research farm in Columbia County that produced a mile-long trail of animal waste. Livestock operations have spilled more than 1 million gallons of manure in 2013, according to the state Department of Natural Resources' records. Records don't show a clear trend in the frequency or size of the spills, but officials say there is a growing practice by farmers and their neighbors of reporting mishaps. Officials also say that regardless of the precautions taken, accidents are not uncommon. Manure contains an array of contaminants, including E. coli, phosphorus and nitrogen, that can harm public waterways and drinking water. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis shows that after this year, the second largest volume in spills took place in 2008 when 905,505 gallons were released. The Journal Sentinel asked for records from 2007-'13. Last year, spills

totaled 191,132 gallons. Kevin Erb, a manure specialist with the University of Wisconsin Extension, said that the volume is minute, compared to the amount of manure cows produce. The spill total for 2013 is less than 1% of all the waste produced by dairy cattle in Wisconsin, he said. Still, manure handling is a volatile issue in Wisconsin as dairy farms grow larger. Attorney Drew Nicholas of Midwest Environmental Advocates said animal waste is the chief concern of residents his firm represents. Thecases focus on opposing new farms or expansions at the state's largest dairies, known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. CAFOs are farms with the equivalent of 700 or more milking or dry cows. "It's the same issue: The fear manure will get into waterways," Nicholas said.

According to the Journal Sentinel analysis, about one-third of the spills since 2007 came from CAFOs. There are currently 196 dairy CAFOs in Wisconsin. In the latest spill, 300,000 gallons of manure escaped from a ruptured pipe on Nov. 24 from a facility in Dane County that takes waste from farms to generate electricity.

The $13 million Dane County digester, which received a $3.3 million state grant, generates enough electricity to power 2,500 homes. It began operating in 2011. The ruptured pipe was not discovered until Nov. 25. The break sent liquid manure into nearby Six Mile Creek.

The DNR is still assessing the extent of the damage. DNR spokesman Bob Manwell said the spill doesn't appear to have killed fish in the creek, but because portions of the creek are covered with ice, the agency is still monitoring the situation. Another big spill was an accident in February at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station that also released 300,000 gallons of manure after a pipe broke. The 2,000-acre farm is UW's showplace for agriculture research. The manure handling system was constructed about five years ago to accommodate about 500 cows. "It was a mechanical failure," said Richard J. Straub, senior associate dean of the UW College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, in explaining the break in a pipe that recirculated the cleanest water from a manure lagoon to wash manure off the barn's floor. DNR records show that Arlington has reported five spills since 2007. That includes three spills in 2009 for a

combined 50,000 gallons. "What can I say, 'manure happens,'" said Straub, who holds a doctorate in agricultural engineering. "We take these things seriously, but there is no system that is absolutely safe." The farm has instituted several changes, including new berms to contain waste if another accident occurs and an automatic shut-off of equipment that pumps manure if a change in pressure is detected, Straub said. DNR officials said they haven't analyzed the data on spills, and haven't examined the data to learn whether there were cases where farms or manure haulers are repeat violators. Some farmers and haulers have been required to pay fines for contaminating public waterways or groundwater, the DNR said, but the figure was not available on Thursday. "Spills are going to happen, and what we are telling people is to report them and mitigate the problem — these are the things that we are focusing on," said Tom Bauman, coordinator of agricultural runoff for the DNR. Officials said a string of manure spills in 2004 prompted the state to become more proactive. The agency has personnel in all regions of the state who work on spills. On nights and weekends, a DNR employee is on call in the event an accident is reported. The DNR also has a system that warns farmers when weather conditions, such as heavy rains and fast snow melt, would be poor for spreading waste.

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/manure-spills-in-2013-the-highest-in-seven- years-statewide-b99157574z1-234701931.html#ixzz2mi6O5sDe
Follow us: @JournalSentinel on Twitter 

DNR Winter Draw Down Has Begun

We need to be at the winter level on Nov 1st.

Koshkonong is below 776.10 (Summer Min)

Indianford Powerhouse Inspection Update

While we are prepared for the inspection work to begin at the Indianford powerhouse, RKLD received just 2 bids total, and both were deemed unacceptable.

We will confer with attorneys, again, to insure we are in compliance with State Law on RFPs, and anticipate work to begin when lake levels are drawn down to the DNR Winter mandated levels.

____________________________________________

All,

The overhead span of 3 phase 12.47kv conductors over the river are de-energized and have a few red guy guards placed on them for visibility.  Keep in mind the 2 pole structure on the west side of the river is energized to keep the transformer serving the dam energized.  

We will plan on keeping it this way for the month of October until you inform me your work is completed.  For an electrical emergency on our system, we may have to re-energize the line until the problem is corrected.  If this occurs, I will let you know immediately.

If you have any questions, please give me a call.

Patrick Runde

Senior Distribution Engineer

Alliant Energy