Living with contaminated drinking water: Wisconsin farmers speak out

Sam Bowen and her young daughter began getting violently ill soon after moving back to the family farm in Pierce County, Wisconsin. Doctors couldn’t explain why, until tests revealed the truth: their private well water contained dangerously high levels of nitrate. The more water they drank, the sicker they became.

Sam’s father, Ty Fisher, has farmed the same land for more than 40 years. Now, he’s speaking out about what happened to his family and why stronger protections are needed to keep Wisconsin’s groundwater safe.

When contamination occurs, the Wisconsin DNR isn’t required to notify local health departments, leaving families like this one in the dark about threats to their own drinking water. Wisconsin Conservation Voters engages voters to protect Wisconsin's environment.