25% BY 2025 Minnesota

Improving water quality25% BY 2025NorthwestMinnesota

Dear Fellow Minnesotans,In the land of 10,000 lakes, clean water should be a right, not a privilege. But the realityis that the quality of our lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater is threatened frommany sources all across our state. We are at a crucial moment – we can continue to letwater quality become worse or we can work together to reverse the damage that hasbeen done and prevent future water degradation. That is why your involvement in thissummer’s Community Water Meetings is so important.It will take all of us working together to protect our waters for ourselves and future generations. That is why, afterhearing from citizens and experts at Water Summits in Morris and St. Paul, I set the goal to improve our State’s waterquality 25 percent by 2025. This goal does not mean that every pollutant will be reduced by 25 percent; it does not meanthat every part of the state will improve 25 percent; but it means that in aggregate for the state and the many pollutantsthere will be a 25 percent improvement. At the current level of effort, there will be only a 7 percent improvementstatewide, and without further action, water quality will get worse.To be clear, this is not a regulation. More importantly, it is a call to action and the reason for Minnesotans to gatherfor Community Water Meetings this summer. I want to hear from people in every part of our State about the waterconcerns in their communities, how it will benefit our economy and quality of life to improve water quality, and whatwe can do to make greater progress toward clean water.Thank you for your commitment to improving Minnesota’s water quality.Sincerely,Mark DaytonGovernorGood to know:Northwest MinnesotaThe Red River of the North (Red River), in part, forms theboundary between North Dakota and Minnesota. The riverflows north through the Red River Valley and empties intoLake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.The Red River Valley, formed by the deep-water basin ofGlacial Lake Agassiz, is the defining feature of NorthwestMinnesota. It is a low gradient plain with poorly drained siltyand clayey soils. Historically a tallgrass prairie, the valley is theflattest, driest, most fire-prone region of Minnesota. It is alsoprone to seasonal and event-based floodingLand use is now mostly agricultural, known for sugar beetsand other row crops. Lakes in Otter Tail, Becker, Grant, andMahnomen Counties are popular vacation areas.12,000 years ago, Lake Agassiz played a large rolein the formation of the fine-grained topsoil andgeological features of the region.* Regions used for this project are from the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.2

Good to know:Northwest MinnesotaDrinkingThree out of fourMinnesotans get theirdrinking water fromgroundwater sources,but the groundwater isthreatened by overuseand contamination insome places.Residents of Northwestern Minnesota obtain theirdrinking water from a mix of sources—groundwaterand surface water (Red River, Red Lake River, WrightLake, etc.)The find-grained clay topsoil in this region is not idealfor aquifer formation, meaning groundwater qualityand quantity are unevenly distributed.The Straight River Groundwater Management Areatouches the far southeast corner of this region. Incontrast with most of the region, this area has sandysoils. Growing pressure from domestic water supplies,irrigation and other uses have threatened groundwaterresources in this area.Major threats to groundwaterNitrate — One of the most commonwater pollutants in Minnesotagroundwater, affecting a large numberof private wells and public water supplies.Elevated nitrate in drinking water canbe harmful to human health, specificallyto the health of infants. Septic systems,fertilizers, and manure are major sourcesof nitrate pollution in Minnesota.Road salt — The salt applied to roads,parking lots, and sidewalks during ouricy winters contains chloride, a waterpollutant.Overuse — In general, water is beingdrawn out of the state’s aquifers fasterthan it is being replenished.If this overuse continues, groundwatermay not be available as needed inthe future.Site-specific contamination —Land that is contaminated by hazardoussubstances and industrial pollutants —such as Superfund sites — may affectgroundwater nearby.Keeping lead out of drinking waterWater can pick up lead if it flows through lead pipeor plumbing. Because lead can be found in theplumbing of homes, all public water systems have tofollow standards to make sure water does not easilydissolve lead while moving through pipes. Schoolsand homeowners can also test lead levels in theirdrinking water and learn about additional ways toreduce their exposure, like running water for 30-60seconds before drinking.3

DrinkingMaximum nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in public and domestic wellsThe map shows three categories of contaminationin mg/L: showing human influence (3–5), of concernto state agencies (5–10), and above the federal safedrinking water standard ( 10). (1990–2015)CLEAR LAKE(pop. 525): 7,600 cost fortreatment per household toreplace a treatment plantSAINT PETER(pop. 11,196): 1,600 cost fortreatment per household tobuild a treatment plantADRIAN(pop. 1,209): 3,300 cost fortreatment per household to sealwells and build a treatment plant4Domestic WellsPublic Supply Wells 10 (mg/L) 10 (mg/L)5 – 105 – 103–53–5SOURCE: MDH & MGS

DrinkingGood to know:Northwest MinnesotaPublic water supply wellsPrivate wellsResidents of Northwestern Minnesota obtain theirdrinking water from a mix of sources – groundwaterand surface water (Red River, Red Lake River, WrightLake, etc.).Thirty-nine percent of residents in this region obtaintheir water supply from a private well.Public water supplies are monitored regularly fornitrate and other contaminants. It’s increasinglycommon that public water supply systems needexpensive nitrate treatment or are using strategies toreduce nitrate. In Northwest Minnesota, 31 public water supplywells, 2.9%, have nitrate above 3 milligrams perliter (mg/L).When wells have levels of nitrate above 3 mg/L,preventative measures should be considered. Thefederal Safe Drinking Water Act standard is 10 mg/L.Public water supplies with nitrate levels above thisstandard must take action to reduce concentrationsbelow 10 mg/L.Private well testing results under the TownshipTesting Program are available for Otter Tail and Beckercounties. In these high-risk areas, 10% of private wellstested are above 3 mg/L, a level at which preventativemeasures should be considered. Four percent of wellsexceed 10 mg/L, which is above the safe drinkingwater standard and can lead to immediate healthproblems for some people, especially babies.Well owners are responsible for testing their ownwater and treating it, if needed. In agricultural areaswith vulnerable groundwater, private wells aresampled for nitrate and pesticides for free under theTownship Testing program: www.mda.state.mn.us/townshiptesting.Public water supplies are protected fromcontamination by focused prevention activities. Thisregion has about 47,000 acres prioritized for drinkingwater protection. Forty-two percent of these are athigh risk of contamination. To protect our water weneed to target protection of high risk areas.5

Good to know:Northwest MinnesotaInfrastructureOur modern water infrastructure is somethingthat most of us barely think about. We takefor granted the drinking water, wastewater,and stormwater infrastructure built up overthe last 100 years — and the hard work andpublic investment that goes into it.Badly in need of attentionMany factors are putting stress on our water systems:Infrastructure prioritiesThe 2017 Clean Water Project priority list forwastewater infrastructure projects in NorthwestMinnesota includes 34 projects totaling 100.7million dollars. Most of these costs in Minnesota(90%) are to repair and replace aging treatmentplants and sewer lines while a smaller portion are toaddress water standards. Old and aging sewer linescan let rainwater or groundwater into pipes, addingunnecessary volume to the system. Projects alsoinclude greater levels of treatment for phosphorusand chlorides and upgrades to unsewered areas withfailing septic systems.Drinking water infrastructure prioritiesThe Drinking Water Project Priority List has 53 projectsto repair and replace aging treatment plants, watermains, and sewer lines, totaling 63 million dollars.Systems are agingand equipment and pipesare at the end of or pastexpected life span.Newly discoveredcontaminants and waterquality standards aremaking it necessary fordrinking and wastewatertreatment to add newtechnologies.Extreme rainfalls, mademore common by climatechange, can quickly overloadstorm drain systems andincrease infiltration intosanitary sewers.The frequency of mega-rainevents in Minnesota hasbeen increasing sharply,and 2016 became the firstyear on record with twomega-rains in the state.The lack of planned fundingOver the next 20 years, Minnesota will have somebig bills to pay:Cost to upgrade wastewater infrastructureneeds over next 20 yrs.Cost to meet drinkingwater infrastructureneeds over next 20 yrs. 4 billion 7 billionAnd worse, yet .In small towns there are fewer peopleto share the costs of expensive waterprojects that protect human healthand the environment.Detroit Lakes wastewater facility6

Good to know:Northwest MinnesotaLakes regionSwimmingStatewide, 40% of the lakes and streams inMinnesota are not meeting standards set forsafe swimming, fishing or drinking.Major threats to lakesContaminated runoff,erosion, and sediment —Runoff from agricultural and urbanland and lakeshore developmentraises the amount of phosphorusin Minnesota lakes, which in turncauses algae to grow and can fueltoxic blue-green algae blooms.Road salt — The salt applied toroads, parking lots, and sidewalksduring our icy winters containschloride, a water pollutant. Whensnow and ice melt, the salt goeswith it, washing into our lakes.At high concentrations, chloridecan harm fish and plant life.The lakes regions in Grant, Otter Tail, Becker, andMahnomen Counties are popular destinations fortourists, boating, fishing, and swimming. Many ofthe lakes in this region are high quality. However, thedraining of wetlands and the installation of artificialdrainage has caused high nutrient and sedimentlevels in the region’s naturally shallow lakes.Floods are frequent in the Red River ValleyVery flat terrain, extensive drainage, widespreadconversion of tallgrass prairie to farmland, and urban/suburban development leave the Red River Valleysubject to frequent floods that affect urban and ruralinfrastructure and agricultural production.The Red River has flooded in 50 of the past 111years. A catastrophic flood in 1997 that submergedmost of Grand Forks destroyed hundreds of homesand inflicted billions of dollars in damage acrossthe region. Investments to reduce flood damagehave included not rebuilding in the floodplain, anew network of flood control structures, pumpingstations, and some 12 miles of levees.The Flood Damage Reduction Work GroupThe Flood Damage Reduction Work Group wasformed in 1998 to address issues related to thedevelopment of flood damage reduction projectsunique to Minnesota.Invasive species — Non-nativespecies, such as zebra mussels,Eurasian watermilfoil, and invasivecarp, can cause economic orenvironmental damage or harmhuman health. About 5% ofMinnesota’s lakes are infestedwith invasives.In watersheds dominated by agricultural and urbanland, half or fewer of the lakes fully support the waterquality standards for swimming because of elevatedphosphorus, which causes algae to grow and makeslakes less attractive, or even dangerous, for swimming.The National Guard transports U.S. Geological Surveypersonnel across the Red River during the historic 1997 flood.7