Little Plover River Dries up Again!
For the second year in a row, the Little Plover River, just outside of Stevens Point, dried up. Last year, the local community of Plover, Wisconsin, and conservationists from around the state were shocked with the news that one of Wisconsin’s small, yet beautiful rivers dried up.
Since then, a local river group has formed and is advocating for the protection of the Little Plover River. Barb Feltz, one of the leaders of the group and a local citizen, cannot believe that it’s happening again. “The creek stops flowing right at my property. I walked about a ¼ mile down what is now only a dry river bottom riddled with dying river creatures and saw enough. Well meaning people procrastinated again until she quit flowing.”
Even with river monitoring and a working group made up of key decision makers and stakeholders, steps were not taken to protect adequate groundwater flow to the LPR. “The village sent an employee to check on it daily, the University of Wisconsin captured flow data, and every day I watched the Little Plover recede” says Barb.
The Little Plover is a groundwater-fed stream, obtaining almost 90% of its flow from groundwater. Because the stream is groundwater fed, the water temperature is naturally cooler, making it ideal for a cold-water fishery. The LPR has historically been a Class 1 trout stream with native naturally reproducing brook trout. The Little Plover has continually shown decreased flow rates due to extensive water use for agricultural and municipal purposes. However, even in previous periods of severe drought, the river has never gone dry. Drying up for a second year in a row adds to the continued decline of what was once a river teeming with life.
Barb Feltz and the rest of the Friends of the Little Plover River are committed to working for the protection of their home river. “Each time she quits, a little life is drained from her, and she will never be the same” Says Barb. “Last year I was really helpless because I didn’t know who to contact, this year the list is extensive and she still dried up. Where do we go from here?”
The Friends of the Little Plover River's reccomended action item:
write a letter to the village of Plover asking them to implement a watering ban and offer water conservation tips…talk to your representative on the Portage County citizen’s groundwater advisory committee at the Portage County Groundwater Website
posted by Wisconsin River Groups at 1:03 PM
3 Comments:
Ray White asked me to post this comment. However, anyone can comment themselves by clicking on the "comment" link at the bottom of each article. Here it is...
The dewatering of the Little Plover River in 2005 and 2006 probably came as no surprise to water scientists and fishery managers in Wisconsin. For all the years that they watched and studied the stream’s deteriorating situation, were they properly informing the public about decline of the essential groundwater supply for this and other trout streams of the region? Were they taking remedial action? I do not represent a river group but, as a former DNR aquatic research biologist (and still returning each year from out of state to fish for Wisconsin trout), I have particular concern for Central Wisconsin trout streams and offer the following remarks.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Wisconsin DNR, conducted a major experimental study of pumping from the Little Plover River's groundwater aquifer some 40 years ago (USGS Water-Supply Paper 1811, 1965). They did this in order to predict effects on Central Wisconsin trout streams. It was clear from this and other studies that intensive irrigation farming and whatever other massive groundwater withdrawal in the region would cause flow volume of the area's streams to decline.
Surely, the appropriate agencies have followed the area's trends of decrease in groundwater levels, stream flow, and fish populations ever since. I understand from another former DNR biologist that, although irrigation was already damaging the little Plover River too much, the groundwater effects of urbanization in the watershed became an even worse factor. (Beyond its summer harm, urban groundwater pumping probably exacerbates the stream’s winter low flow problems, as well.)
What were state agencies doing about the deteriorating situation? DNR’s website states its dedication “to the preservation, protection, effective management, and maintenance of Wisconsin's natural resources.” Is this being borne out with respect to the groundwater resource upon which Central Wisconsin’s trout populations depend? “Efficient use of agricultural resources in a quality environment” is part of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture’s mission. Is destroying trout streams consistent with this?
Long before it causes utter drying, groundwater pumping typically reduces stream volume to an extent that harms fish populations. A stream's trout population thrives best under conditions of rather stable "base flow"--the amount of water supplied by groundwater springs and seepages, in other words, flow that is not due to overland runoff of rain or melted snow. The fish generally contend well with high flows, such as floods from runoff. Runoff flows usually last only a few hours or days. It is severe low flows that most damage stream fish populations. Low water tends to undergo greater warming in summer, exposes fish to predators, often lasts for weeks, and can greatly increase a fish population’s death rate even if complete dewatering does not happen.
Certainly, the Little Plover River's trout suffered from groundwater pumping for many years. The same goes for other Central Wisconsin trout streams--no doubt all those where significant irrigation farming occurs. Creeks in the "sand plain" west of the region's moraine crest have probably been hit the hardest, not only because so much irrigation pumpage is done there, but also because flow of streams in flatter land responds more sharply to decreased groundwater levels. Big Roche-a-Cri Creek (Waushara and Adams Counties) appears to have shriveled to a pitiful fraction of its former flow. Similar conditions can be expected in the Ten Mile Creek headwater branches (Portage County), in Carter Creek (Adams County), and most other sand plain streams. Are these creeks even worth fishing anymore?
It looks like people did not become sufficiently concerned during the Little Plover River's long festering flow crisis. Now they see the stream’s dry bed and are raising something of a fuss. Way too late to prevent terrible damage, but streams can restore themselves when human-generated harm is halted.
Is the situation retrievable? Restoring or preserving the stream's low flows in the form of mere trickles will do little good for the trout population. The same goes for other streams in the region. Substantial, dependable flow will have to be assured if fishing and other important stream values are to recover. Do Wisconsin's people and their government care enough about this region-wide crisis to tackle what’s causing it?
Ray White
rw@seanet.com
Why can't Wisconsin follow suit...
From the Duluth News Tribune:
DNR imposes river water restrictions
Drought has prompted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to impose strict regulations for industrial water uses from 12 rivers in northern and eastern Minnesota.
The rivers include the St. Louis, upper Mississippi, upper St. Croix, Knife, Crow Wing, Snake, Kettle, Vermilion, Rainy, Littlefork, Clearwater and Roseau.
About 60 agriculture irrigation, golf course, gravel and other industrial water users who have permits to take water from those rivers have been told to halt water use, said Kent Lokkesmoe, director of waters for the DNR.
The regulations kick in when stream flows drop to 10 percent of their historic average, which they have in many areas of the drought-stricken state.
In addition, the DNR is asking residents across the state to conserve water as the state's worst drought in 18 years continues to worsen.
"We need an inch of rain each week now just to stay where we are, and a lot more than that to catch up," Lokkesmoe said. "Everything we can conserve now will help."
Summer peak demand for water averages 2.6 times the winter demand in the Twin Cities and may be as much as four times greater in some communities. Lokkesmoe noted that conservation is especially important in St. Cloud, Minneapolis and St. Paul, which obtain most or all of their water from the Mississippi River.
Lokkesmoe called on all Minnesota municipalities to ask their residents to conserve water, and said he expects some cities to impose water conservation regulations in coming days.
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