MONROE - The Green County Finance and Accounting Committee will recommend the county board approve a water study to help determine the potential effects that large-scale farms could have on groundwater.
All five finance committee members recommended the water study. Finance and Accounting Committee member Arthur Carter, who is also county board chairman, said he thought the study was a good idea, adding the committee discussed the project for nearly an hour during its meeting Tuesday.
"We needed to know what it would really tell us," Carter said. "It would give a background for all the county as to our groundwater."
The study by the University of Wisconsin system would test groundwater, sub-soil, rock formations and produce a diagram of well locations throughout Green County. Results would provide "an overall view of the water," Carter said.
If approved, the county could pay for the study from its general fund. The total cost would be $105,000, paid over three years.
Residents opposed to a proposed dairy with more than 5,000 cows in the town of Sylvester asked the county to pay for the water study. Large-scale dairy facilities, Carter said, could use the information to gauge water level in an area they may wish to build. Information gleaned from the study could also be used for developers interested in building within the county.
Committee member Gordon Klossner, who on Thursday voted against recommending a year-long moratorium on construction of new, large-scale livestock operations, also expressed disinterest in pursuing the water study.
"I don't like throwing money down a rathole," Klossner said. "We're talking about $105,000 to subsidize the UW."
The Green County Board of Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. today at the Green County Courthouse in Monroe.
All five finance committee members recommended the water study. Finance and Accounting Committee member Arthur Carter, who is also county board chairman, said he thought the study was a good idea, adding the committee discussed the project for nearly an hour during its meeting Tuesday.
"We needed to know what it would really tell us," Carter said. "It would give a background for all the county as to our groundwater."
The study by the University of Wisconsin system would test groundwater, sub-soil, rock formations and produce a diagram of well locations throughout Green County. Results would provide "an overall view of the water," Carter said.
If approved, the county could pay for the study from its general fund. The total cost would be $105,000, paid over three years.
Residents opposed to a proposed dairy with more than 5,000 cows in the town of Sylvester asked the county to pay for the water study. Large-scale dairy facilities, Carter said, could use the information to gauge water level in an area they may wish to build. Information gleaned from the study could also be used for developers interested in building within the county.
Committee member Gordon Klossner, who on Thursday voted against recommending a year-long moratorium on construction of new, large-scale livestock operations, also expressed disinterest in pursuing the water study.
"I don't like throwing money down a rathole," Klossner said. "We're talking about $105,000 to subsidize the UW."
The Green County Board of Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. today at the Green County Courthouse in Monroe.
