Landscape context of rural residential development in southeastern Wisconsin (USA)

Private on-site sewage systems serve residential development in rural landscapes throughout the United States. In the State of Wisconsin, three major types of private sewage systems facilitate residential development on sites that span gradients in slope, soil permeability, depth to bedrock, and depth to water-table. Conventional soil-absorption sewage treatment systems are constructed on sites with minimal physiographic constraints; more highly engineered alternative sewage treatment systems are installed on sites with moderate to severe constraints; holding tanks provide no on-site sewage treatment and are employed on sites with the most severe physiographic limitations. An environmental impact statement (EIS), prepared in 1979 on the proposed widespread use of alternative private sewage systems, suggested that alternative systems might facilitate in-fill development on poor sites near existing cities and lead to compact, higher density development patterns. The research reported in this paper tested the validity of this EIS scenario by comparing development patterns associated with a sample of conventional systems, alternative systems, and holding tanks installed during the 1980s in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. Land use data, soils data, and other site attribute data were assembled and analyzed in a vector geographic information system (GIS). Because each type of private sewage system has a unique set of siting criteria, the three sets of sampled systems are located in significantly different physiographic regions within the County. Collectively, installations of all three systems facilitated scattered residential development throughout the rural landscape. This development consists of relatively small residential patches dispersed within an agricultural matrix. Wastewater management technology, if not constrained by public policies or other socioeconomic factors, can be an important anthropogenic factor influencing both the process and pattern of landscape change.