Chapter NR 820
GROUNDWATER QUANTITY PROTECTION
Subchapter I — General Provisions
NR 820.13 High capacity wells annual pumping reports. Subchapter II — Groundwater Management Areas
NR 820.20 Groundwater management area designation. Subchapter III — Environmental Review of High Capacity Well Applications
NR 820.29 Review periods. NR 820.30 High capacity wells in groundwater protection areas. NR 820.31 High capacity wells near springs. NR 820.32 Projects with high water loss. NR 820.33 Public utility wells. NR 820.10NR 820.10 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to designate areas of the state, consistent with s. 281.34 (9) (a), Stats., in which impacts from groundwater drawdown and pumpage are such that regional planning and management is necessary to avoid, minimize and manage future impacts. This chapter also establishes review criteria applicable to high capacity well applications involving wells situated near springs, trout streams, outstanding resource waters, and exceptional resources waters, and involving groundwater withdrawals with high water loss. NR 820.10 HistoryHistory: CR 06-121: cr. Register August 2007 No. 620, eff. 9-1-2007. NR 820.11NR 820.11 Applicability. This chapter applies to all counties, cities, towns, villages, utility districts under s. 66.0827, Stats., that provide water, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation districts that have town sanitary district powers under s. 33.22 (3), Stats., joint water authorities created under s. 66.0823, Stats., and municipal water districts under s. 198.22, Stats. This chapter also applies to persons who are owners of high capacity wells and high capacity well systems including persons that propose to construct a high capacity well. NR 820.11 HistoryHistory: CR 06-121: cr. Register August 2007 No. 620, eff. 9-1-2007. NR 820.12NR 820.12 Definitions. In this chapter: NR 820.12(2)(2) “Class 1 trout stream” means a stream, portion of a stream or a farm drainage ditch with a prior stream history that contains a self-sustaining population of trout and is classified as such in Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources publication PUB-FH-806 2002, Wisconsin Trout Streams. Farm drainage ditches that support self-sustaining populations of trout but do not have a prior stream history are not trout streams for purposes of this chapter. NR 820.12 NoteNote: Copies of this document may be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, 101 South Webster Street, Natural Resources Building, PO Box 7921, Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7921.
NR 820.12(3)(3) “Class 2 trout stream” means a stream, portion of a stream or a farm drainage ditch with a prior stream history that contains a population of trout made up of one or more age groups, above the age one year, in sufficient numbers to indicate substantial survival from one year to the next, but in which stocking is necessary to fully utilize the available trout habitat or to sustain the fishery and is classified as such in Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources publication PUB-FH-806 2002, Wisconsin Trout Streams. Farm drainage ditches that meet these criteria but do not have a prior stream history are not trout streams for purposes of this chapter. NR 820.12(4)(4) “Class 3 trout stream” means a stream or portion of a stream that has marginal trout habitat with no natural reproduction of trout occurring, requiring annual stocking of trout to provide trout fishing, and generally without carryover of trout from one year to the next and is classified as such in Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources publication PUB-FH-806 2002, Wisconsin Trout Streams. Farm drainage ditches that meet these criteria but do not have a prior stream history are not trout streams for the purpose of this chapter. NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. NR 142.02 (4) defines “consumptive use coefficient” to mean “a constant numerical measure, as determined under s. NR 142.04 (1) to (4) which is used to determine the consumptive use portion of a facility’s withdrawal”. NR 820.12(6)(6) “Department” means the department of natural resources. NR 820.12(7)(7) “80% exceedance flow” means the flow in a stream that, based on statistical probability, will be exceeded 80% of the time on an annual basis. NR 820.12(8)(8) “Groundwater management area” means a multi-jurisdictional area including towns, cities, villages and counties within which the level of the groundwater potentiometric surface in any of its underlying aquifers has been reduced by 150 feet or more from the level at which the potentiometric surface would be if no groundwater withdrawals had occurred. NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (am), Stats., defines “groundwater protection area” to mean “an area within 1,200 feet of any of the following: NR 820.12 Note1. An outstanding resource water identified under s. 281.15 that is not a trout stream. NR 820.12 Note2. An exceptional resource water identified under s. 281.15 that is not a trout stream. NR 820.12 Note3. A class I, class II, or class III trout stream, other than a class I, class II, or class III trout stream that is a farm drainage ditch with no prior stream history, as identified under sub. (8) (a).
NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. NR 812.07 (51) defines “high capacity property” to mean “one property on which a high capacity well system exists or is to be constructed.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (b), Stats., defines “high capacity well” to mean “a well that, together with all other wells on the same property, has a capacity of more than 100,000 gallons per day.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. NR 812.07 (53) defines “high capacity well system” to mean “one or more wells, drillholes, or mine shafts used or to be used to withdraw water for any purpose on one property, if the total pumping or flowing capacity of all wells, drillholes or mine shafts on one property is 70 or more gallons per minute based on the pump curve at the lowest system pressure setting, or based on the highest flow rate from a flowing well or wells.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (c), Stats., defines “local governmental unit” to mean a “city, village, town, county, town sanitary district, utility district under s. 66.0827 that provides water, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district that has town sanitary district powers under s. 33.22 (3), joint local water authority created under s. 66.0823 or municipal water district under s. 198.22. NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. NR 812.07 (68) defines “one property” to mean “all contiguous land controlled by one owner, lessee, or any other person having a possessory interest. Lands under single ownership bisected by highways or railroad right-of-ways are considered contiguous.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (d), Stats., defines “owner” to mean “a person who owns property on which a well is located or proposed to be located or the designated representative of that person.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (e), Stats., defines “potentiometric surface” to mean “a measure of pressure of groundwater in an aquifer based on the level to which groundwater will rise in a well placed in the aquifer.” NR 820.12(17)(17) “Prior stream history” means a determination made by the department that an artificial waterway or a portion of such waterway was originally a navigable stream before it was ditched or channelized. NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. NR 812.07 (85) defines “reconstruction” to mean “modifying the original construction of a well. Reconstruction includes, but is not limited to deepening, lining, installing or replacing a screen, underreaming, hydrofracturing and blasting.” NR 820.12(19)(19) “Significant adverse environmental impact” means alteration of groundwater levels, groundwater discharge, surface water levels, surface water discharge, groundwater temperature, surface water temperature, groundwater chemistry, surface water chemistry, or other factors to the extent such alterations cause significant degradation of environmental quality including biological and ecological aspects of the affected water resource. NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (f), Stats., defines “spring” to mean “an area of concentrated groundwater discharge occurring at the surface of the land that results in a flow of at least one cubic foot per second at least 80% of the time.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (g), Stats., defines “water loss” to mean “a loss of water from the basin from which it is withdrawn as a result of interbasin diversion, as defined in s. 281.35 (1) (g) or consumptive use or both.” NR 820.12 NoteNote: s. 281.34 (1) (h), Stats., defines “well” to mean “any drillhole or other excavation or opening deeper than it is wide that extends more than 10 feet below the ground surface and is constructed for the purpose of obtaining groundwater.” NR 820.12 HistoryHistory: CR 06-121: cr. Register August 2007 No. 620, eff. 9-1-2007; correction in (9) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register February 2017 No. 734; CR 18-095: am. (10) Register June 2020 No. 774, eff. 7-1-20. NR 820.13NR 820.13 High capacity wells annual pumping reports. NR 820.13(1)(1) Owners of high capacity wells shall record pumpage data on a monthly basis and shall report the information to the department at no less than an annual frequency using methods and forms provided by the department. Reports of annual pumpage for a given calendar year shall be submitted to the department no later than the first day of March in the following calendar year. NR 820.13 NoteNote: Appropriate forms, description of acceptable estimation methodology and reporting procedures will be sent to owners of each high capacity well each year by the department. Copies of these documents may be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater, 101 South Webster Street, Natural Resources Building, PO Box 7921, Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7921.
NR 820.13(2)(2) Individual reports shall be prepared for any high capacity wells with the capacity to withdraw water at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day or more. NR 820.13(3)(3) If one high capacity property does not contain any single high capacity well with an individual capacity to withdraw water at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day or more, the annual pumpage may be reported as a composite volume for the entire property based on estimated water usage using a method prescribed by the department. NR 820.13(4)(4) If one high capacity property contains high capacity wells with individual capacity to withdraw water at a rate of at least 100,000 gallons per day and high capacity wells with maximum pumping capacity less than 100,000 gallons per day, a composite pumpage volume based on estimated water usage using a method prescribed by the department may be reported for those wells with individual maximum pumping capacity less than 100,000 gallons per day. NR 820.13 HistoryHistory: CR 06-121: cr. Register August 2007 No. 620, eff. 9-1-2007. NR 820.20NR 820.20 Groundwater management area designation. The areas specified in subs. (1) and (2) are designated as groundwater management areas. Any local governmental unit contained within these areas shall be considered to be part of the groundwater management area unless it is explicitly excluded in sub. (1) or (2). NR 820.20(1)(1) Southeast Wisconsin Groundwater Management Area consisting of the following: NR 820.20(1)(f)(f) The portions of Walworth county consisting of the U.S. Public Land Survey townships of East Troy, Spring Prairie, Lyons, Bloomfield, Linn and Geneva, with the exception of the village of Williams Bay and city of Elkhorn, and including the portion of the U.S. Public Land Survey township of Troy that includes part of the Village of East Troy. NR 820.20(1)(g)(g) All of Washington county with the exception of the U.S. Public Land Survey townships of Wayne and Kewaskum. NR 820.20(2)(2) Northeast Wisconsin Groundwater Management Area consisting of the following: NR 820.20(2)(b)(b) The portions of Calumet county consisting of the U.S. Public Land Survey townships of Woodville and Harrison and the village of Sherwood.
