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Groundwater: Why is it Important?
Water has helped shape Wisconsin's geography, history and industry. More than 70% of Wisconsin's homes use groundwater. An average family of four uses 255 gallons of water/day. Household use accounts for 20% of the water withdrawn from the ground in Wisconsin. Cheese, beer, papermaking and other industries also require a lot of water; Wisconsin's industries withdraw 40% of the groundwater used in the state. Commercial businesses use 7%. Thirteen percent of the water withdrawn from the ground is used for irrigation and livestock production. All together, we use almost 1/2 billion gallons of groundwater in Wisconsin each year.
Groundwater provides the base-flow for most streams and river and is the primary source of water for most lakes and wetlands. So it's also important to wildlife and to recreation such as fishing, boating and swimming.
(Resource: WDNR Study Guide)
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