- Kewaunee County has struggled with its water quality for years. Tonight, a meeting was held and the community raised their voices in concern.
- Tyler Frye was at the meeting. He recently purchased a house in Casco. He later on realized his nitrate levels were dangerously high.
- At the meeting groundwater education specialist, Kevin Masarick spoke to the public. He said that efforts are being made but there is still a long way to go.
What would you do for safe drinking water? Kewaunee County has struggled with high nitrate levels in its water for years. Tonight, the community came out to try to make change happen.
One of the community members at the meeting was Tyler Frye. He bought a house in this new Casco housing development. Later on, he found out his nitrate levels were dangerously high
"It was very sickening when I got the results, it was very sickening,” said Frye. "I have this brand new house that I paid all of this money for and I’m locked in at an interest rate at three point whatever percent. If I sell, I’m selling at a loss and then I have to find a house somewhere else."
Tyler was joined by community members for change.
"I want to see some action,” said one man from Algoma.
Tonight, the Land and Water Committee brought in groundwater education specialist, Kevin Masarick. He says the nitrate levels could be from multiple causes including the spreading of liquid manure on nearby fields.
"There's a lot of opportunities to do better and we have to have open and honest dialogue with each other,” said Masarick.
Masarick says that even if the root cause is fixed, the water quality won't be perfect for quite some time.
"There's a lot of wells where it may take years, maybe even a decade or more, to notice a measurable improvement in somebody's water quality,” Masarick says.
Time that Tyler cannot sacrifice, as he said he and his wife want to start a family. High nitrate is extremely dangerous to pregnant women and children.
"We plan to have a family soon,” said Frye. “That’s just another stressor to life."
Tonight at the meeting, many community members stood up and talked about their struggles with the water quality. One thing is for sure, the community is ready to see some action on the issue.
