MADISON — The Land and Water Conservation Board (LWCB) unanimously has endorsed state water quality goals based on recommendations from a two-year effort involving diverse stakeholders (see the attached memo). The LWCB is responsible for overseeing management of water quality issues in Wisconsin. Its members represent the interests of local governments, farmers, conservation groups, and include state agency participants as well as advisors from state organizations and federal agencies. These are goals they agreed upon by the LWCB:
Surface Water Quality Goals
- Reduce statewide farm P (phosphorus) runoff by at least 30% by 2035 (reductions may vary between watersheds) and make steady interim progress toward that goal.
- Meet all watershed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) targets (combined P loading from farm and nonfarm sources) within 20 years, or within 20 years of TMDL approval, whichever date is later, and make steady interim progress toward those targets.
- Meet P concentration standards for P-impaired waters (from both farm and nonfarm sources), to remove 90% of all P-impaired waters from the Wisconsin impaired waters list by 2050.
Groundwater Quality Goals
- Ensure safe drinking water for all Wisconsin residents. The LWCB supports initiatives toward this goal.
- Reduce nitrate and pathogen contamination of groundwater.
- Maintain compliance with groundwater standards where those standards are currently being met, and accelerate efforts to restore compliance where the standards are not being met.
- Keep Wisconsin agriculture and rural communities vibrant and economically sustainable, while achieving our groundwater quality goals.
The goals endorsed by the Board were based on recommendations from the Food, Land and Water Project (FLW Project), which was organized to advance discussion on issues related to water quality and farmland preservation. FLW project members represented a wide range of stakeholders, including significant representation of agricultural interests (e.g. Dairy Business Association, Wisconsin Farmers Union, Wisconsin Farm Bureau, and farm leaders). The FLW recommendations and goals can be found at https://wisconsinlandwater.org/events/food-land-water-conference
In endorsing the FLW project goals Chair Mark Cupp said, “The LWCB supports implementation of these goals and, importantly, the development of realistic and achievable implementation timelines to assure measurable progress is made toward enhancement of Wisconsin’s surface water and groundwater quality.”
— State of Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Board
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