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from the Wisconsin Rural Water Association and the DNR, to build a comprehensive Wellhead Protection Program that provides their municipal water supply with an uncompromising level of protection. On April 20, 1992, the Village Board of Cottage Grove adopted a Wellhead Protection Ordinance by a unanimous vote. This ordinance aims at preventing certain land use practices which have the immediate potential to contaminate the aquifer which the village uses as the sole source of drinking water for it's citizens. The purpose of such an ordinance is to implement the maximum authority granted to them by the State Legislature under Wisconsin Act 410. Wisconsin Act 410 gives the statutory authority to a community to institute land use restrictions and regulations to protect the water supply of a community and the health, safety and general welfare of it's citizens. The Wellhead Protection Program that protects the potable water supply which Cottage Grove utilizes, is a comprehensive program which many communities across the state look to for guidance and direction. In addition, many local governments in Wisconsin use the Cottage Grove Wellhead Protection Ordinance as a model when forming their wellhead protection ordinances. Just as pollution does not respect political boundaries, the movement of groundwater also flows freely underneath jurisdictional lines. When groundwater becomes contaminated, the pollutant may travel with the movement of the groundwater within the local groundwater flow system. Often times this local groundwater flow system will be shared by a number of communities. While a localized contamination incident may not impact the water that one community uses, it has the potential to be devastating to a neighboring community when they share a common source of drinking water. It is in situations such as this when neighboring entities need to work together to protect the vital resource which they share. Cottage Grove has taken the initiative to provide their drinking water supply with the utmost protection that is available to them. The village is and will be used as an example for an untold number of communities across the state of Wisconsin who are interested in developing an effective wellhead protection program for their water supply. I hope that you take the village of Cottage Grove's efforts into consideration when making future land use decisions for Dane County. Respectfully, Fcyort.e2. - C3c'"erv% James R. Payton, State Wellhead Protection Coordinator Bureau of Water Resources Management cc: Sue Kettinger Jill Jonas