around the Village of Spencer in central Wisconsin doesn ’ t have much glacial till over the bedrock areas , and the local bedrock is crystalline granite with less water-holding capacity . In 2001 the Village started searching for a new well because its shallow wells didn ’ t comply with current Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ( WDNR ) codes . Any new well in the Village would require placing the casing 60 feet underground ( and into that granite bedrock ) to reduce surface water influence on the well water . Local groundwater tends to be high in iron and manganese , which meant the most economical site would be relatively close to the water treatment plant , and any well site needed to meet setback requirements from buried fuel tanks , cemeteries , and other potential contaminants .
The Village examined geologic maps , studied data from test sites , worked with Ayres Associates to pinpoint a potential well site – and brought in a little extra help from Ray “ Stub ” Griepentrog , a local resident with a knack for “ water witching ” ( a folk method for locating water using a willow branch ). Griepentrog , who is nearing his 97th birthday , has been “ water witching ” for more than 30 years . “ And lo and behold , it ended up fantastic !” said Dean Smith , the Village water system operator . Since 2005 Spencer has been using a new 290-foot well with a capacity of more than 200 gallons per minute – more than twice the capacity the Village had hoped for .
“ It ’ s a high producer and the water quality is very good ,” Smith said . “ It has lower iron content than what we have in the other wells and lower manganese , which makes it a lot easier to treat . We are most definitely more secure in our water supply .” The new well also has a self-contained generator to maintain service in case of a power failure .
Ayres Associates design engineer Casey Werner worked with the Village on the well site investigation , wellhead protection plan , well design , and construction . “ The production was better than we had hoped ,” he said . “ We encountered a lot of fracture zones in the bedrock , and we also hydrofracked the well – we pumped pressurized water into the well to open fractures and increase production .”
Spencer was named water system of the year in 2008 by the Wisconsin Rural Water Association , a testament to the system function , water quality , and staff capabilities . But the Village can ’ t rest on its laurels : An older well is now having problems , and the Village is looking for another well site . “ I hope we find another well just like the new one ,” Smith said .
The City of Clintonville in northeastern Wisconsin has similar groundwater supply challenges . Since the early 1900s the community has drilled more than 70 wells looking for water and
The City of Clintonville , Wisconsin , made major improvements to its municipal water system ( top photo ), including a new water treatment facility at left and a 500,000-gallon ground storage reservoir at right . The City ’ s water goes through an arsenic removal system ( center photo ) and is chemically treated ( bottom photo ) before going out to water customers .