Stream Monitoring Projects

WATER QUALITY MONITORING

Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Department has taken on the role of water quality monitoring to assess the health of streams in the county. We recognize the importance in establishing a water quality baseline to track the health of streams and determine areas of special concern so that project funding could be targeted properly. A number of streams and locations are selected each year based on proposed water quality projects, past and future projects. Our team samples a range of parameters at specific locations that may include: macroinvertebrates (water insects), dissolved oxygen, temperature, nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended solids. Sensors are deployed at certain sites for the entire summer gathering water quality data every 30 minutes. When possible, we are teaming up with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to track the health of fish communities.

The plan is to gather data on most streams in Sauk County by using a 5-10 year rotation. The data collected will be used to assess the effects of water quality projects and land use changes occurring throughout the county over a period of time. We are still in the process of collecting baseline data on most of Sauk County's streams.

See below for photos, updated documents and other information.  If you have any questions or would like more information, contact Serge Koenig at 608-355-4837 or by email at  serge.koenig@saukcountywi.gov.