Live Sustainable, Lincoln County will be hosting a second program regarding county groundwater on Thursday, April 11 at 6 PM in room #225 of the Lincoln County Service Center

Live Sustainable’s first water program covered the book “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” and now they are bringing the discussion closer to home with a look at groundwater quality in Lincoln County. The April 11th program will focus on drinking water for homes and businesses in Lincoln County served by individual on-site wells and septic systems and municipal services. Moderator Melinda Osterberg, the new Lincoln County Extension Community Development Educator, will facilitate a panel comprised of Kevin Masarik, Ground Water Specialist with UW – Extension in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, John Cole Director of Pubic Works for the City of Tomahawk, and Gabriel Steinagel, Water and Wastewater Utilities Manager for the City of Merrill.
Kevin Masarik’s work at Extension focuses on groundwater and drinking water quality education targeted towards populations served by rural residential well water systems. Other aspects of his work include understanding the relationship between agricultural land use and water quality and geologic related groundwater contaminants.
John Cole, has been employed with the City of Tomahawk since December 27, 2000. The Tomahawk Water Utility pumps an average 445,000 gallons per day, 162 million gallons in a year from two wells in Water Park, located off South Tomahawk Avenue.
Gabriel Steinagel oversees the City of Merrill’s groundwater supply that includes five wells, associated water distribution system, 575 hydrants, and 4000 services and meters.

“As a homeowner in Lincoln County, I am reminded how lucky we are to have good drinking water; to have lakes, creeks and the river for their beauty and enjoyment. But we can’t take them for granted,” stated Lynn Zentner, a rural county resident with a well. “We have an obligation to be good stewards of the land and our waters, and that includes groundwater. What we put in our drains, down the storm sewers and even on our lawns and fields has an overall effect on the health of this important resource. I look forward to learning more about what we can all do to be more environmentally friendly with our valuable water resource.” Information regarding well testing, city water quality, and upcoming municipal water projects, will be available. The will also be a question and answer segment at the end of the facilitated discussion. The workshop is free and everyone is welcome.

Live Sustainable, Lincoln County is a non-profit organization that works to help people lead more environmentally friendly, fair and economical lives, for the good of their families, their community, and the planet.