WDNR Drinking Water & Groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater Coordinating Council

GCC Participants

GCC Activities

Wisconsin's Groundwater
Coordinating Council (GCC)

Research and Monitoring Program

The Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC) provides consistency and coordination among state agencies that fund groundwater monitoring and research. The University of Wisconsin System (UWS) and the Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources (DNR), Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP), and Commerce annually participate in a joint solicitation for research and monitoring proposals dealing with groundwater, pesticides and/or onsite wastewater treatment systems. The solicitation is made jointly to streamline proposal writing and the review process, and improve communication among agencies and researchers.

The joint solicitation package is sent out each fall with a proposal deadline in mid November. Notification of funding occurs in early March. Funding corresponds to the state fiscal year, from July 1 to June 30.

The Joint Solicitation for Groundwater Research & Monitoring Proposals for Fiscal Year 2009 will be available this fall. The deadline for proposal submission will be in November, 2007. More information can be found on the UW's Water Resources Institute (WRI) web site (Exit DNR).

Descriptions of currently and recently funded projects are also available at the WRI web site (exit DNR), as well as summaries of completed projects.

GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Approximately $14.1 million has been spent through FY 07 on over 300 different projects dealing with groundwater or related topics. See the complete list of projects from the most recent GCC Report to the Legislature.

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The sources of money and purposes of monitoring or research include:
  • UWS Groundwater Research - The UWS, through its UW-Madison Water Resources Institute (WRI), has received funding since FY 90 for groundwater research. Projects may be of a fundamental or applied nature on any aspect of groundwater research in the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, or law. Through FY 07, the UWS has spent $5.3 million on 148 groundwater research projects. Several projects have been co-funded with DNR, Commerce and/or DATCP and 11 were co-funded with WRI through the US Geological Survey.


  • DNR Groundwater Monitoring and Research -
    The DNR has been funding groundwater "management practice monitoring" projects since FY 86. The intent of these studies, funded through the Groundwater Account of the Environmental Fund, was to identify appropriate management practices to reduce the impacts of potential sources of contamination. In recent years, the DNR has used funds from alternative state and federal sources, and has targeted funds at specific issues of concern, including arsenic, emerging contaminants (viruses, antibiotics), and groundwater quantity. Through FY 07, the DNR has spent approximately $6.3 million on 196 monitoring projects. Several of these projects have been co-funded with DATCP, Commerce and/or UWS.


  • DATCP Pesticide Research -
    From 1989 to 2002, DATCP had approximately $135,000 available annually to fund research on pesticide issues of regulatory importance. This money came from fees paid by pesticide manufacturers to sell products in Wisconsin. Starting in FY 03, these funds have not been available for new research. Through FY 07, DATCP has spent about $1.8 million on 42 pesticide projects. Several of these projects have been co-funded with DNR and/or UWS.


  • Department of Commerce Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Research -
    The Division of Safety & Buildings (formerly in the Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations) received an annual appropriation of $50,000 from 1990 to 1993 to fund research on alternatives to current private sewage-system technology. In 1994, when the appropriation expired, $75,000 generated through plan review and licensing fees became available each year for research on private sewage systems. Through FY 07, Commerce has spent approximately $600,000 on eight projects. Two projects were co-funded with DNR and UWS.

A list of projects funded and a discussion of some of the benefits derived from these projects is in the GCC Report to the Legislature. Many of the completed projects have been summarized both in print (Wisconsin Groundwater Research and Monitoring Project Summaries DNR PUBL-WR-423-95 and DNR PUBL-WR-205-90) and on the Water Resources Institute (exit DNR) web page.

For more information contact:
Jeff Helmuth at (608) 266-5234 or via email.

Last Revised: Wednesday July 11 2007