77-6 Leveraging Citizen Science to Support Small Municipalities: A Case Study of the Rock River, Dodge County, WI

Session: Groundwater and Sustainability: Integrating Science, Technology, and Policy

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Southeastern Wisconsin is a patchwork of agricultural and forest land, littered with abundant lakes and streams.  The region boasts rich soils and varied topography common to heavily glaciated areas and critical to the farming economy that dominates.  Water is obviously a vital resource for the region, but it also presents many challenges, especially related to flooding.  The Rock River, a critical tributary that eventually drains to the Mississippi, runs through several counties in the area, and has a history of significant flooding.  While flooding is normal and expected, particularly in the low-lying, stream-adjacent wetlands, development and agricultural emphases have made seasonal flooding more fraught over the past several decades.  Beginning around 2000, a section of the upper Rock River, particularly through Dodge County, began a period of anomalous flooding with longer residence times and higher peak flows than normal.  State and local agencies had no answers, and by 2007, residents and municipal governments had taken matters into their own hands.  In the town of Lebanon, a citizen science program began data collection of water levels on the river.  After years of back-and-forth between township leaders, local residents, and state officials, a consultant was hired to assess the flooding situation.  Based on findings and recommendations from the consulting firm, the state of Wisconsin was spurred to establish a fixed gauging station in 2022, supported by the United States Geological Survey.  For the past three years, the citizen science data has continued, and has compared favorably to the USGS data.  This revelation signifies that the Rock River data going back to 2007 is dependable and could have been actionable.  Further, it suggests that well-informed citizen science projects could supplement research-grade data collection with the right guidance and forethought, saving critical resources at all levels of government.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9371

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