


You walk to the sink thirsty, turn on the faucet, run the water, take a drink, quench your thirst. 

It's summer, the kids want to make and sell lemonade to the neighbors, people passing by. You fill the pitcher with water, add the lemon juice and the ice, and away they go. 

Rarely does it occur to one to wonder where the water comes from. Is it clean? What is in it? Why the heavy scent of chlorine? When we catch that scent, we know it must be safe to drink. 

Not long ago, health officials recommended drinking eight glasses of water per day for better health. Folks on the job and in social settings began carrying a bottle filled with water, most likely from the tap at home. A few years later, ads for bottled water were seen and heard everywhere.

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You see people coming out of stores with large cases of bottled water. Is this safer? Does this solve the problem we are having with contaminated run-off? 

Testing is done and done differently for wells, homes and recreational waters. Some testing is limited to phosphorous and not tested for E.coli or nitrates, which are detrimental to human health. 

The awareness of our water emergency is largely thanks to an organization called Kewaunee CARES. Northeast Wisconsin has the highest density of dairy CAFOs, concentrated animal feeding operations, in the nation. In our immediate area are Kewaunee with 16, Brown County 23 or more, and Manitowoc County with 18. 

On these industrial farms, where does the excrement from 1,000 to 5,000 cows go? Into pits. This manure is spread on the fields. A few smaller farms continue to keep it in its original form and spread it with manure spreaders, as was done in the past. The larger farms need pits to store. Some of these manure pits can hold as much as 76 million gallons, equivalent to multiple football fields. 

The danger here is adding water, which makes it easier for farmers to handle. However, other dirty water used in cleaning on the farms is dumped into the manure pits. This dirty water also contains dangerous chemicals. When this liquefied manure is spread over acres of land, because of the volume, it can run off into other areas such as rivers, creeks, lakes and wells. 

Land in northeastern Wisconsin is Niagara escarpment-porous rock, which makes our area more vulnerable to contamination. 

What can we do? This article is not to frighten, nor does it advocate fewer farms. As citizens living in the area, we need to become more aware of the danger to people's health and use means of caution. Set up rules and guidelines now. Advocate our state and federal officials to look into the problem, already lurking in our back yards. Look into our agricultural practices and change those that have a detrimental effect on our citizens. Learn from our neighbors, Kewaunee CARES, and join them in actively advocating positive change. Their website is

Community columnist Joy C. Krejcarek is a Manitowoc resident.

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