Water Use – Sustaining Wisconsin´s Water Wealth

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What´s New

Waukesha Diversion Application

Online Reporting Now Available

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource´s Water Use program was created to implement the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact [exit DNR] and to focus on water quantity challenges statewide. The Great Lakes Compact Law (2007 Wisconsin Act 227) and the Groundwater Quantity Law (2003 Wisconsin Act 310) provide the foundation for the Water Use program. While most of the program applies statewide, there are specific requirements for water users in the Great Lakes Basin [PDF 1.34MB].

Learn more about the Great Lakes Compact here.

Although Wisconsin is water rich, we must ensure that our water use is sustainable by meeting these goals:

• Documenting and monitoring water use through registration and reporting
• Implementing the Great Lakes Compact through water use permitting and regulating diversions of Great Lakes Basin waters
• Helping communities plan water supply needs
• Reviewing the construction and impacts of high capacity wells
• Building a statewide water conservation and efficiency program
• Developing and maintaining a statewide water resources inventory