2022 Vol 16, Issue 5 August Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 5 of 6 Informational Meeting on Gem Lake Water Plan-9/12 Mark your calendar now. An important informational meeting will be held on September 12 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the Gem Lake water plan, which was recently completed by SEH, which functions as Gem Lake’s City Engineer. Late last year, the City Council of Gem Lake began to look at options for dealing with the discovery of small amounts of pollution in 22 private wells in the city. An Informational Meeting on September 12 is intended to look at the complex options that are available to the city, and to get feedback from the people who live here on what direction the city should take. These options could include installing a city-wide municipal water system, installing a smaller more targeted municipal water system in the area where wells have been affected, or doing nothing for now. Homeowners affected by the contamination could drill new wells or install sophisticated water filtration systems. Each of these options is potentially expensive and fraught with possible problems. The process leading up to this informational meeting this September began with the commissioning of a comprehensive municipal water study. That study was meant to evaluate what options are available for obtaining water from a neighboring city, should it become necessary, and how the system might be implemented. The first portion of the study detailed two potential sources for obtaining municipal water, The City of White Bear Lake, and White Bear Township, both of which border Gem Lake. The study concluded that a viable system that could supply the entire city efficiently is possible, from an engineering perspective, from either of these neighbors. SEH evaluated factors such as water pressure, water quality, water treatment standards, etc. to draw their conclusions. They did not reach out to either neighbor to explore whether they would be able or willing to supply Gem Lake’s water needs at this point. The ballpark cost of a system from either White Bear Township or the City of White Bear Lake was estimated at between $11-12 Million. At the February City Council meeting, SEH was asked to develop Part Two of this water study. This second part evaluates options for phasing in a water system to the part of the city potentially most in need of municipal water. It also looks at possibilities for municipal water that could involve working with the City of Vadnais Heights. This portion of the water study was scheduled for discussion at the May 17 City Council Meeting. Because many residents of Gem Lake don’t currently want a municipal water system, and the majority of wells have not been impacted by contamination at present, it was the duty of the council to evaluate options such as moving from private wells to municipal water in phases on an as needed basis. Therefore, Part Two of the Water Study explores additional potential options of providing safe, reliable sources of water within the City, with a goal of prioritizing those areas with known well water contamination and the areas with a higher likelihood for potential future well water issues. The goal would be to feed these smaller, localized water service areas by the nearest surrounding community’s distribution system to limit project costs and complexities. The Engineering Firm SEH mapped out three priority service areas and described prices and options for each of these areas. These more targeted options could cost between $367,021 and $3,478,076, depending upon the number of households served, and where the water would be coming from. Now that an extensive plan has been completed, the city can pursue possible grants and loan programs that might help finance the installation of any municipal water system. (Typically, grant applications require that a study be completed first.) Many engineering factors would have to be considered while determining the best and most feasible options for Gem Lake. These factors include water quality, system efficiency, topography, and the ability to reach agreement with surrounding communities to supply the city with water. No decisions have been made about what direction the city should go and public feedback is encouraged. We hope to see you on September 12 at 7:00 p.m.