Answers to questions about common water contaminants in drinking water

The bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater publishes brochures relating to the topic of many common water contaminants and water quality. If you have questions or concerns about a brochure, please email Margie Damgaard

The following are all PDF documents

• Arsenic in Drinking Water brochure, More...
• Bacteriological Contamination of Drinking Water Wells
• Copper and Your Health
• Cryptosporidium: A Risk to Our Drinking Water
• Groundwater Problems and Solutions
• Iron in Drinking Water
• Lead in Drinking Water
• Nitrate in Drinking Water (English)
• Nitrate (Hmong translation) in Drinking Water
• Nitrate (Spanish translation) in Drinking Water
• Operator Handbook
(For Other-than-Municipal and Non-Transient, Non-communicty Water Systems)
• Owner/Operator Handbook
(For Transient, Non-Community Water Systems)
• Radium in Drinking Water
• Sulfer Bacteria in Drinking Water
• Volatile Organic Chemicals in Drinking Water
• Well Protection: An ounce of prevention...
• Well filling and sealing brochure, More...
• Well Chlorination in Arsenic Sensitive Areas

Information For Homeowners with Private Wells

About two-thirds of Wisconsin's population drinks water drawn from over 750,000 private wells. Wells are safe, dependable sources of water if sited wisely and built correctly. Unlike public water systems, protection and maintenance of a private well is largely the responsibility of homeowners. Here you will find information you need to have your private water supply built correctly and protected adequately.

• GIS Registry Site Well Approval Application (.pdf version)
• High Capacity Wells - Guidance, applications, and more...
• Frequently asked questions about water quality and contamination
• Information about well construction and pump installation
• List of Licensed Pump Installers
• List of Licensed Well Drillers
• List of laboratories certified to test for bacteria and other contaminants
• Recommendations for flooded wells
• Well filling and sealing
• Driven point (sandpoint) wells
• Basement Wells and Pits
• Private Well Construction in Granite Formations
• Variance Application
• Landfill Variance Application
• Wisconsin Administrative Code NR 812