2022 Vol 16, Issue 7 November Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Future Water Options Discussed at Water Summit (Continued from page 1) The MPCA plans to conduct well testing over the course of the next several years, so they can monitor whether the pollution is increasing, decreasing or moving around. In the meantime, the city has spent the year looking at what their options might be. 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. The process leading up to the Water Summit on September 12 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. Over the course of the year, SEH, the city’s engineering firm, also studied possible sources of funding to put in a municipal water system. The total study detailed three potential sources for obtaining municipal water, The City of White Bear Lake, White Bear Township, and Vadnais Heights, all 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 these neighbors. 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. This is the real and actual current figure for putting in a city-wide system, absent of any grants or loan programs that might be tapped into. The Water Study also 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 in Gem Lake’s northwestern section, where most of the contamination exists, 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. At the Water Summit, experts from SEH detailed several state and federal sources for grants and loans and raised the possibility that any viable responsible party that created the pollution could be called on to contribute to the cost of the mitigation. It was pointed out that the lead time for getting state and federal grants is very long and the application process can be a bit overwhelming. A 12-18 month application process is not unusual. They suggested the city might start an application in early spring of 2023, even if they later withdraw it in the event they decide not to install municipal water anywhere in Gem Lake. Action items decided upon at the Water Summit were to encourage cooperation with the MPCA to conduct all necessary well testing as soon as possible. Also, it was decided that a survey might be appropriate. This survey would be sent out to all well owners in the city to determine their thoughts on municipal water versus private wells, based on various cost scenarios. The numbers provided in this article on the cost of various options are based on current costs without outside funding. Here are a couple of the questions that came up at the summit: 1. If a viable responsible party is found regarding our contamination problem, what does that mean? Answer: Depends. The MPCA starts with clean-up of the problem and works from there. Sometimes Super Fund money is tapped into to help. We will know more by the end of the year. 2. Would every citizen of the city have to pay for a municipal water system, even if it is only installed in one neighborhood? Answer: No.