Like many people around the state, Tarion didn’t know anything about nitrate. He has since learned that a nearby industrial animal farm (or CAFO) has been contaminating the town’s groundwater by dumping large amounts of manure.
This is not an isolated problem in Nelsonville. Contaminated drinking water from nitrate is a major concern across Wisconsin. It’s estimated over 42,000 private wells exceed the health standard for nitrate. It is linked with cancer, birth defects, infant death, and other health concerns.
Our state legislators aren’t investing adequate funding to address this issue and unlike people on municipal water systems who get annual notifications about their water quality, private well owners aren’t always notified when local groundwater is contaminated.
Our team is working on a legislative strategy to address this, so stay in the loop by following our emails and subscribing to our YouTube channel. The health of our communities is too important – we need to find solutions.
We’ll be premiering Part II of this Nelsonville story next Thursday, July 31 at 7 p.m. where Nelsonville resident Lisa Anderson talks about a way forward. Join us for our live premiere on YouTube at this link >>> (Make sure to click “Notify me” on the video)
