Water Quality Standards - Evaluation and Management

The activities of the Water Evaluation Section form the core of Wisconsin's Clean Water Act Programs. The Clean Water Act identifies water quality goals for the nation and outlines processes and legal foundations for monitoring, assessment, and management to ensure water protection and use for a variety of purposes.

Water quality information is obtained by measuring current conditions, such as the number and type of fish present, against a set of criteria or quality guidelines that identify expected values for excellent quality versus poor quality waters. The guidelines are derived based on the water quality standards use designations and related water quality criteria established in code. Water quality standards for surface waters are described in Chapters NR 102, 104, and 105 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

Water quality standards are the foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program mandated by the federal Clean Water Act. Water Quality Standards define the goals for a waterbody by designating its uses, setting criteria to protect those uses, and establishing provisions to protect water quality from pollutants. A water quality standard consists of three basic elements:

1. Designated uses of the water (e.g., fish and aquatic life, recreation, fish consumption),
2. Water quality criteria to protect designated uses (numeric pollutant concentrations and narrative requirements), and
3. An antidegradation policy to maintain and protect existing uses and high quality waters.

Once the water condition is established, management actions are planned or carried out, such as point source discharge limits or placing a water on the state's impaired waters list. All of these actions involve the Water Evaluation Section.

Rogers Branch is a twelve-mile stream in northcentral Grant County that has its origin near the Village of Fennimore and flows south and joins with Borah Branch to form the Grant River near Lancaster, Wisconsin.