Introduction to CW Riverkeepers Podcast

Hello fellow Riverkeepers.

Today we're posting the first podcast of the water monitoring season.



Or read it here
Script for Podcast, March 2010

Welcome to CWRiverkeepers “On the Water.” This is a monthly podcast about “water monitoring and related activities of the Central Wisconsin Riverkeepers. This monthly podcast runs in conjunction with a weekly blog.

Today’s podcast is an introduction to who we are, what we’re doing and what we’re going to do this 2010 Water Monitoring Season here in the Central Wisconsin Riverkeepers.

As you may know, Riverkeepers are first cited in a 1997 book from Scribner, NYC by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Their purpose was to stand vigilant to the Hudson River, a large geography in eastern New York—which among many important things, supplies millions of people with drinking water in the City of New York.

Riverkeepers are “in-the-muck, waders-on environmentalists.” And that’s where we fit in. Central Wisconsin, though certainly not as populated as NYC is without doubt an important ecology—a future podcast will address the geological and ecological significance of Central Wisconsin.

You won’t want to miss that episode of the podcast.

Okay, here’s the unique feature about this podcast. You can listen to it whenever and wherever you want. You don’t need a radio tower or special listening device. It will happen without all that, right here on this blog. Our schedule is promoting a podcast release the third week of each month during the water monitoring season.

We want to keep our Central Wisconsin Riverkeepers informed on special topics that impact our water.

Let’s look around the State of Wisconsin: What are some of the issues here?

The City of Waukesha is concerned about their water supply—will they have enough for future generations? They are asking to get special permission from the Great Lakes consortium of 8 States and Two Canadian Provinces to pipe water from Lake Michigan to their East though they are in the Mississippi River Watershed that lies in their west. Part of the provision is that they will also need to pipe waste water back into the watershed from whence it came.

On one hand, no big deal, on the other, what about all the places that need water? Think Golf Courses?, Arizona Resorts? Whose water is it? There’s a few interesting links to this topic on our website blog.

Elsewhere in Wisconsin:
The Lower Fox River is named by the EPA to be a 303d listed, impaired water. This river system drains 1/5 of the State of Wisconsin. That’s right 20%! It provides drinking water for 100’s of 1000’s of Wisconsinites. You should also know that though it is a 303d-listed, and impaired water—it is listed as a low priority with the DNR (We’ll have more about this in a future podcast.)

What’s going on in Central Wisconsin’s watersheds? Specifically, there are many issues with groundwater and surface waters of the State.

Where’s it going? As reported in the Madison State Journal last September, that Long Lake near Plainfield in western Waushara County has disappeared. We’ll give you a link to that story and Wisconsin Public Radio’s interview with some of the cottage owners on Long Lake. Check our web blog for these links.

The Little Plover River in Central Wisconsin--a Class 1 Trout stream has been pumped dry by high capacity irrigation wells for the past six years. Are vegetables more important than water for human life? How many jobs are impacted by disappearing water? We will provide that link to that story on our blog, too.

So there you have it. An overview of water in our area. Issues and things to consider. There’s a lot going on in Wisconsin these days.

We are the CWRiverkeepers. We’re going to water monitor streams, rivers and a few lakes in Central Wisconsin specifically in six counties: Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, and the 3 W’s—Waushara, Waupaca and Winnebago.

If you want to join us, put a comment on the blog site. Help us look at the water—in-the-muck-waders on--for the environment.

This has been the introductory podcast to CW Riverkeepers--for the March 2010 edition.

Please join us again; the blog is posted weekly with a podcast on the third week of each month--when we explore “on the water”.

Thank you for being with us.

For the Central Wisconsin Riverkeepers Committee:
This is THE STREAMER See you "on the water."