The Kewaunee County Land and Water Conservation Committee is scheduled to discuss lifting the county’s Public Health and Groundwater Protection Ordinance two weeks early on Tuesday, but the weather forecast may have already given its final word. Adopted in 2016, the Public Health and Groundwater Protection Ordinance bans spreading waste onto land with a soil depth of 20 feet or less to bedrock from January 1st to April 15th. The hope with the ordinance is that the melting snow and spring rains would not carry manure and other waste into the groundwater. Kewaunee County Land and Water Conservation Department Director Davina Bonness told the committee at last month’s meeting that farmers had requested the date be lifted due to the nice weather that could allow them to plant earlier. Committee chairperson Aaron Augustian was lukewarm to the idea, saying they have come a long way since the ordinance was enacted.

The weather forecast for the coming week could stunt the conversation before it ever gets going. According to the National Weather Service, there is a chance of snow every day between Monday night and Wednesday night, with up to seven inches of snow possible. The forecast shows that the snow could likely melt as quickly as it falls, with daytime high temperatures above freezing all week.