Our government is responsible for spraying endless amounts of foam that contains toxic chemicals that end up in our water and soil. Please let your elected officials know that they need to stop poisoning us: from the county to the city to the state and beyond.
These toxins build up in us and our children. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals have been found in newborn babies that traveled through the mother’s blood. These fluorinated chemicals do not break down.
“At least some PFAS are present in every Madison well …” according to the City of Madison Water Utility. All of the wells around me have poison in them, poison that we don’t know how seriously we will be harmed. It’s like they are gambling with our lives.
I’m involved in my local community here on the Northside of Madison working to make sure that the people in government do their job properly. We, as citizens, come together to create government that serves the people: all of us. I am a military veteran, an Air Force veteran, a former member of the 115 Fighter Wing. I am involved with Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin because I believe in the rule of law, accountability and standing together with my neighbors for what is right.
We would like to stop this practice of spreading poison. The problem is that legislators tend to listen more to the people who hand them money, than to science or the American people. Poisoning us is not necessary in order to protect us. We need transparency so that we can see the equation, the cost-benefit analysis.
The people in government will try to tell us that we need these chemicals, but really often it’s just that the people making the ultimate decisions have connections to the people raking in the money. It’s all in who you know.
Without complete transparency, these problems will continue to be shoved under the rug. We should ban these awful chemicals. Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and other European people and nations are working to restrict all PFAS.
PFAS have a multitude of harmful effects on human beings. They are endocrine disruptors which mimic hormones. Endocrine disruptors suppress a person’s immune system. We want our immune systems to be as strong as possible. Say you want to live through COVID, you need a healthy immune system. Endocrine disruptors make vaccines less effective. It is beneficial for a vaccine to be effective. Take some time to do a search on “endocrine disruptors.”
These PFAS imitate natural hormones. PFAS can increase or decrease hormone production. We know they cause cancer.
From The Madrid Statement on Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances: “In animal studies, some long-chain PFASs have been found to cause liver toxicity, disruption of lipid metabolism and the immune and endocrine systems, adverse neurobehavioral effects, neonatal toxicity and death, and tumors in multiple organ systems.”
As early as the 1960’s, the manufacturers and the government knew from research that PFAS related chemicals had serious harmful effects. The businesses and government have been switching between similar chemicals, with similar properties, in recent years. They turn out to be just as dangerous or worse, but the testing seems to come long after the profits are made.
From the Environmental Working Group: “Despite knowing about the potential health hazards of firefighting foam made with toxic PFAS chemicals, the Department of Defense continued to use aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, for decades … The Navy worked with 3M to develop AFFF in the early 1960s and sought to patent the firefighting foam in 1963.”
We must make sure that we are in charge, our elected work for us. Otherwise, the laws and regulations that are created will be ignored. Those in the federal government tend to act as if they are above the law, regardless of what they are responsible for and who they harm.
Sources: Midwest Environmental Justice Organization (mejo.us), Military Poisons (militarypoisons.org), Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (cswab.org)
It has happened before; it has happened again; and it will continue to happen until something changes.
If you spent any time in Warner Park this January, you may have seen small pockets of open water around the lagoon. While the rest of the lagoon was covered in several inches of ice, these stubborn holes refused to freeze. One such spot kept the ice rink at the Rainbow Shelter from opening for a while.
Holes or thin spots in the ice can be caused by run-off, underwater currents, springs and sometimes animals like muskrats, but the cause this year was heartbreaking. The water was kept open by thousands of fish sipping air off the surface in an attempt to survive. While the fish made a valiant effort to make it through the winter, the cold snap in early February literally sealed their fate.
Fish need oxygen to survive. Oxygen can get into water many ways, but the best source comes from photosynthesis in underwater plants. Currently, turbid water from storm events and the feeding and breeding activities of carp keeps underwater plants from establishing. In the winter months, snow cover prevents the few plants in the lagoon from producing the oxygen fish need to survive. If there’s not enough oxygen in the water, fish will resort to sipping air off the surface as a last resort.
This winter panfish like crappie and bluegills were the first to die. Next were smaller baitfish species like shiners. Sometimes, species like bullhead and common carp can survive low dissolved oxygen levels but even they couldn’t make it this year. Unless several interventions occur, this cycle will repeat itself year after year.
“For over 15 years Northsiders have been pushing for the renovation of the Warner Lagoon and considerable taxpayer money and city resources have gone to developing the final plan.
Our leaders need to find the political will to come together and make this important project happen sooner, rather than later. Please, contact your local representatives and let them know that restoring and protecting our lakes should be a priority, starting with the Warner Park Lagoon.”
Can we fix the problem?
In 2014 the City of Madison conducted a series of surveys looking at water quality in the Warner Lagoon. The results showed low levels of dissolved oxygen, high levels of phosphorus, low diversity of fish species, frequent fish kills and contaminated sediment. The City of Madison Engineering Division hosted several public input meetings to discuss solutions and began developing a plan. Much credit goes to lead engineer, Sally Swenson, and the Engineering Division for thoughtfully considering the information provided by hired consultants, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wild Warner, The Yahara Fishing Club and many concerned citizens.
Earlier this year, the city released their “Warner Lagoon Water Quality Planning Final Report” outlining plans to address the many issues facing Warner Lagoon. While there are many facets to the 164-page plan, I have summarized the top three interventions as they were ranked in the report based on feasibility and impact.
1. Carp management
When carp feed, they disturb sediment and make the water cloudy. This prohibits the growth of plants that produce the oxygen more desirable fish species need to survive in the lagoon.
According to DNR Fish Biologist for the Madison lakes, Dan Oele, “With a healthy fish community surviving year after year, the native species can keep carp populations somewhat in check. With lower carp numbers, the water quality and clarity will improve. This will result in fewer harmful blue green algae blooms, making the lagoon safer for the public and their pets.”
If you’ve been to the Warner Dog Park in the summer, you know that toxic algae blooms shut the swimming beach down every year.
Many people don’t connect carp with algae blooms, but in 2008–09 a carp population reduction of about 50% in Lake Wingra reduced phosphorus levels by almost 40%.
There are many ways to reduce carp populations including poisoning, baiting and trapping and exclusion. Poisoning is not desirable because it kills other fish species. Baiting and trapping is effective but laborious and expensive. Exclusion is the preferred method.
Between April and June, carp enter the lagoon from the outlet to Lake Mendota to spawn. Retired DNR fish biologist and Northsider Kurt Welke and others are working with the city to install a “carp gate” at the outlet to Lake Mendota that allows water and desirable fish species to pass through but keeps amorous carp out. A similar gate was installed a few years ago, and the lagoon saw immediate improvement. Unfortunately, that gate was damaged and never re-installed.
2. Stormwater catch basins
Every time it rains, almost 1,200 acres of urban landscape drain into Warner Lagoon. The water carries with it sediment, phosphorus and all the other things you might find in our streets. Catch basins installed in 2007 have reduced sediment loads but the construction of three additional catch basins will help even more.
The city’s report calls for a catch basin in the southwest corner where Castle Creek enters the lagoon, one in the northwest corner of the lagoon and a third on the north end of the lagoon near Forster Drive. It is estimated that these three outfalls are responsible for 81% of the annual sediment that makes its way into the lagoon. The installation and maintenance of these catch basins could also reduce phosphorus levels by as much as 29% and will greatly reduce the amount of sediment that flows into the lagoon each year.
3. Dredging
Warner Lagoon hasn’t been dredged since it was created in the late 1960s. For over 50 years the lagoon has served as a giant catch basin for much of the Northside. Dredging will remove polluted sediment and significantly improve fish habitat.
Dan Oele stressed, “The success of this entire project hinges on dredging and carp management. These two activities will increase all benefits associated with the project. Dredging isn’t just a place for anglers to target, it will provide cold, well-oxygenated water for game fish to survive harsh winter conditions.”
Dredging is expensive. The main challenge is spoils disposal. Hauling spoils away in dump trucks is impractically expensive but finding somewhere to dispose of spoils nearby is challenging. Through the public meeting process, locations such as the prairie near the dog park, the large fields near the recreation center and even creating a new marsh around Marsh Island (the island in the middle of the lagoon) were discussed as potential spoils disposal sites.
So, we have a plan — now what?
The Warner Park Lagoon is a rare feature and invaluable resource and needs to be protected. Many Northsiders fish to feed their families, and a good number of them do so from shore. Improving fish habitat in the Warner Lagoon will greatly improve shore fishing opportunities in a part of town where such locations are sorely lacking.
As part of its commitment to equity, the City of Madison should pursue all feasible options to restore outdoor recreational opportunities in neighborhoods and communities that need them most.
Besides fish, the lagoon supports a wide variety of birds and other wildlife that abound year-round. Northsiders and folks who travel from all over the area enjoy the natural bounty Warner Park has to offer.
Every year the Warner Lagoon restoration is delayed is another year of heartbreaking fish kills and the stench that greets us each spring, not to mention the pollution that continues to enter our precious lakes.
According to the city’s report, renovation of the lagoon will cost $4.6 million. That’s a lot of money to be sure, but the report says the project can — and in fact should — be done in phases, which will soften the financial burden. Dane County officials should also have a stake in this project. These waters connect beyond Madison to other Dane County communities, and aspects of the proposed lagoon could fit nicely with Dane County’s “Suck the Muck” efforts.
This pandemic has taught us the importance of access to quality outdoor recreation opportunities. Warner Park is a gem in the Madison parks system with the potential to be a crown jewel if it gets the attention it deserves.
For over 15 years Northsiders have been pushing for the renovation of the Warner Lagoon and considerable taxpayer money and city resources have gone to developing the final plan.
Our leaders need to find the political will to come together and make this important project happen sooner, rather than later. Please, contact your local representatives and let them know that restoring and protecting our lakes should be a priority, starting with the Warner Park Lagoon.
Warner Lagoon: how did we get here?
In the late 1800s, Warner Park was almost all lowland marsh and farmland. In the early 1900s, a group called the Madison Parks and Pleasure Drive Association (MPPDA) purchased a section of white sand beach on Lake Mendota from the Woodward family farm to create a public swimming area. The park was named after Ernest Noble Warner, a former MPPDA president and longtime advocate for the creation of what is today Warner Park.
In 1912 the installation of the Tenney Locks (a point of contention for some environmentalists even to this day) raised lake levels as much as 5 feet. The higher water flooded the area east of the beach, known then as Castle Marsh, and created an ideal spawning location for many of the lakes’ fish species.
In the 1950s the DNR purchased 13 acres of what is modern day Warner Park in an effort to protect the spawning habitat. At the same time, the City of Madison was purchasing land around Castle Marsh for parkland to serve the many housing developments popping up on the Northside.
Jack Hurst, 87, has been leading the push for lagoon renovation for 17 years. He has lived in the area his entire life. “When we built our house up the hill from the fire station in 1965, I could count pheasants from my back patio in what is today Warner Park,” he said.
By the late 1960s, the City of Madison had installed drainage ditches, dredged the marsh into a 27-acre lagoon and began redirecting residential runoff to the lagoon.
Since then, silt has filled the lagoon so much that areas once 15 feet deep are less than 5 feet deep today, and most of the lagoon averages a depth of just a couple feet.
In 2007 the City of Madison installed catch basins near the Mallards Stadium. In just the first year, the basins collected 66,000 pounds of sand that would have otherwise gone into the lagoon. The restoration of Castle Creek and other mitigating efforts have also prevented thousands of pounds of sediment from settling in the Warner Park lagoon, but the damage from over 50 years of neglect and mismanagement remains.
I can hear the chorus calls of blackbirds outside as I write this, filling the air that is still moist from one of the first spring rains. I remember this time from one year ago, the sounds and the smell of the thawing ground.
Exactly one year ago, we worked on this issue of the paper as a cascade of lockdown orders fell across the country. Something that seemed immovable to me, immense and completely beyond human intervention, loomed: our publication deadline. (Of course, a year later, we have learned just how much that which seems fixed is changeable.) We moved the deadline. We pushed it back one week to redo large swaths of the paper and the suddenly empty calendar of events. We filled that space with information about the new landscape of resources to address basic needs as people reeled from closed schools, lost jobs and deep uncertainty.
One year later, we are still navigating a landscape of shifting resources and misinformation. We are also left to navigate the trauma of the last year.
As I write this, it’s been just over a week since the mass shooting that killed eight people, including six Asian women. It was an act of misogyny and racism. It is part of an increase in hate crimes targeting Asians and Asian Americans over the last year, acts of white supremacist violence prompted by racist rhetoric at the highest levels.
The Northside News unequivocally condemns this violence. We recognize and stand in solidarity with the resistance work led by Asian Americans to Stop Asian Hate. And we recognize that this is our work and our struggle too. Media — even neighborhood newspapers — hold power. Mainstream media failed to cover the rise in hate crimes until recently, following the urgent and persistent demands of organizers. We recognize the central role that journalists of color have played in changing that lack of coverage.
Similar dynamics are true, too, in the struggle for Black liberation and against systemic racism that impacts Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We see and hold the connections between these issues and their freedom work.
It has been a year since Breonna Taylor was killed by police as she slept in her home.
So much has changed over the last year, but not enough. As we publish this issue, one year later, this is a time to recommit to the antiracism work that so many individuals and organizations, including the Northside News, pledged to do in the wake of uprisings for racial justice last summer. Over the last year, we have seen just how much change is possible. We’ve also seen that change is essential. We cannot wait for the loss of more lives — from COVID-19, from racism — to step into it.
“When the frost is out of the ground, I will take down the sign in front of the shop,” stated Chet Hermansen, owner of Chet’s Car Care on Aberg Avenue. His business is located directly across the street from the Oscar Mayer property that Madison Metro was planning to purchase for a satellite bus storage and maintenance facility.
From the onset of the news of the city’s plan, Chet protested and placed a large “No Bus Barn” sign in front of his business. The next day, a Metro employee arrived to remove it. After a conversation with the Metro employee and a phone call from the employee to a supervisor, the confiscated sign was returned, and Chet restored it to its location. So began the two-year debate about a bus barn on Madison’s Northside.
In March 2019, the resolution was introduced that directed city staff to “pursue negotiations with the owners of the Oscar Mayer facility to facilitate its use as a Metro satellite bus site.” Over the next two years, area residents, District 12 Alder Syed Abbas, local businesses, neighborhood associations, and environmental groups shared their concerns about the known chemical contamination at the Oscar Mayer property with city leaders and staff as well as with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The contamination of the soil and groundwater under the existing buildings, the high levels of toxic vapors, and the contamination under the paved areas of the northern end of the site became of increasing concern. These concerns eventually caused the city to hire a specialized attorney to pursue the final details that would be included in a letter of intent to purchase. The legal wrangling related to the contamination and potential deed restrictions seemed to fade away when the city set its sights on a newly available property at the FedEx facility near the airport.
Opponents of using the Oscar Mayer property said that using this side for the bus facility did not make sense for the nearby neighborhoods and businesses or for the already traffic-laden Aberg Avenue. In particular, much of this area is home to our most vulnerable citizens: a tiny house village for unhoused people and two future low-income family and senior housing developments.
In a recent conversation about the FedEx facility, Justin Stuehrenberg, Metro general manager, said, “Overall, it’s a better site for us. It’s bigger, less costly, but more than anything, it allows us to move in almost immediately so we can begin using it in the near future. We are bursting at the seams and we need it as quickly as we can. We are close to signing the purchase and sale agreement. An environmental site assessment was conducted, and that report is with the Federal Transit Administration for review.”
In a February meeting of the Transportation Commission, Stuehrenberg stated that “Oscar Mayer would have required several years of environmental cleanup,” which would have delayed the use of the site. According to Stuehrenberg, funds that were approved by the FTA ($7 million) for the Oscar Mayer property will be available for the FedEx site. “We were successful in getting the grant scope changed with FTA to shift that grant to the new site.”
Maria Powell, a researcher for Madison Environmental Justice, said, “The city made a wise decision to abandon plans to locate the bus barns on highly contaminated Oscar Mayer land. It’s unfortunate that nearly two years of city resources were squandered in planning for this site before the city finally realized the folly of purchasing it. Without difficult, ongoing advocacy by the Midwest Environmental Justice Organization, No Bus Barn, Alder Abbas and many Northside residents, the city would likely have gone forward with this unwise purchase. Large amounts of city funds would be needed for investigation and cleanup, and nearby neighborhoods would endure more noise, bus traffic, air and other toxic pollution in the future. Stopping this was a hard-won grassroots victory for environmental justice.”
When Powell was asked about what the future holds for the Oscar Mayer property, she stated, “The battle isn’t over. A lot of toxic contamination remains at the Oscar Mayer site that has not been investigated, forget about cleaned up. Extensive networks of storm and sanitary drains at the site have not been investigated to assess where the contamination has migrated on-site and into neighborhoods and nearby waterways. We’ll be watching to make sure the city lives up to its stated commitments to racial equity and social justice.”
I recently called Chet Hermansen to ask about the city’s decision to purchase the FedEx facility. “I am grateful that the Northside community could come together to provide the right input and that area residents and business owners are committed to building a better neighborhood. I appreciate that the city made a good decision by choosing to locate the bus facility in an industrial area of the city with ready access to Highway 51,” stated Hermansen.
As Metro moves forward with this new satellite facility purchase, it is facing many changes in the coming years. Plans for the Bus Rapid Transit system continue to take shape. In addition, there is a major redesign project underway for the entire Metro bus network that is focused on ridership and coverage (see sidebar above).
All this as the frost is coming out of the ground.
Metro Network Redesign project
Madison Metro has a major redesign project underway for the entire Metro bus network that is focused on ridership and coverage.
Area residents are encouraged to get involved with the Metro Network Redesign. Focus groups will be convened through community organizations, business and civic associations, neighborhood associations, and other groups who would like to provide input into the redesign plan. If you are interested in hosting a focus group, send an email to MetroRedesign@cityofmadison.com.
There will be a public survey available this spring and more public meetings later in the summer.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on many Madison families, and COVID relief policies and programs are continually changing. To help residents navigate these difficult times, the City of Madison and the Madison Public Library are providing a free service, the Financial Resources Hotline.
Madison residents seeking help due to COVID-19 can contact the hotline to be connected with a “Financial Navigator,” a person they can talk to about their financial concerns.
Financial Navigators are available at no cost to provide guidance over the phone to help residents access available programs and services to manage income loss and other financial concerns they may be experiencing. With one-on-one discussions, navigators will help address personal financial issues, identify immediate steps to manage expenses and maximize income, and make referrals to services such as bill paying assistance, government benefits and other programs that may be available from current and future stimulus packages.
Navigators provide up-to-date and timely information, like where to find local free tax preparation support and information about COVID-19 impacts to tax filing.
The Affordable Care Act Insurance Marketplace has open enrollment until May 15. A navigator can help connect you to local resources which will ensure you are getting the most affordable coverage for your situation.
If you are struggling to pay rent or other daily living expenses, and have never applied for government assistance before, or are not familiar with local resources, a navigator can help identify those resources and next steps to see if you qualify.
Residents can access the hotline one of two ways: (1) go to cityofmadison.com/financialhotline to fill out the interest form and sign up for a session; or (2) if you would like assistance signing up over the phone, call the Financial Resources Hotline at 608-266-6300 (new number) Mondays‒Fridays, 10 am‒6 pm, or Saturdays, 12‒5 pm.
After signing up, you will be contacted by a Financial Navigator to begin your personal session, which may last about 30 minutes. Service is available in English, Hmong, Spanish, Mandinka and Wolof, with ASL and other languages available through the city’s interpretation services.
