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June 14, 2018
The advisory group for the North and East Metro Groundwater
Management Area gathered for its first semi-annual meeting of 2018 on May 4 at the
Ramsey County Public Works Facility in Arden Hills. DNR project manager Dan
Miller highlighted actions being taken by the agency, communities and other entities to achieve
goals described in the area groundwater management plan, including:
- DNR work to provide real data by adding another weather station in
the groundwater management area;
- Efforts by communities and other government units to decrease
groundwater appropriation by re-using stormwater for irrigation;
- Promotion of water conservation and efficiency measures such as
lawn watering restrictions, distribution of smart irrigation controllers,
conservation water rates, and education and outreach.
Handouts summarizing accomplishments by DNR and others were
distributed as part of the meeting packet.
Transient groundwater model
Jason Moeckel, DNR inventory, monitoring & analysis section manager,
updated the group on the application and refinement of the transient
groundwater model that was developed by a consultant working with DNR and
released last November. The model has been able to show the relative impacts of
different wells within a five-mile radius of White Bear Lake. It also indicates
that a residential lawn watering ban would likely have little effect on the
lake’s water level, resulting in only about 1-inch a year.
Since its release last fall, DNR has been tinkering with the model
to see how other information might be incorporated to improve its accuracy,
such as a University of Minnesota study of evaporation on White Bear Lake, and
refined bathymetry data. DNR will continue working with a technical team and
the original consultant to refine the model. By the end of August, the agency
will run several different scenarios through the model and publish the results.
(NOTE:
During the meeting a question was asked about two scenarios simulated by the
transient groundwater model, and Moeckel provided an answer that may have
resulted in some confusion. He offers this clarification:
“The
DNR used the new model to simulate many different pumping scenarios based on
water use information reported to DNR by appropriation permit holders. One
simulation evaluated the impacts of pumping attributed to summer water use that
is over and above winter use. The Metropolitan Council estimates that this
additional summer water use in June, July, and August is on average 25 percent
of the total water use for a public water supplier in the Twin Cities Metro
Area. This estimate is calculated by subtracting reported winter water use for January,
February and March from reported summer water use for June, July, and August.
The difference in water use includes not only lawn watering, but other uses
that may increase in the summer months (e.g., showering, laundry, swimming
pools, garden watering, etc.). The DNR used these estimates to evaluate impacts
to White Bear Lake water levels that might result from the residential
irrigation ban required by the Ramsey County District Court order. This
simulation used the reported water use from public water suppliers from 2006 through
2016, because that’s the period when lake levels were below 923.5 feet (the water
level that, under the court order, triggers the irrigation ban). This calculated
amount is likely higher than the amount of water actually used for lawn
irrigation (municipal suppliers do not specifically track residential
irrigation). When this model simulation was conducted, reducing pumping by
these amounts, it generated results indicating a negligible difference in White
Bear Lake water levels. Since this estimate of summer water use is higher than
actual residential irrigation water use, the DNR has determined that the residential
irrigation ban will have little effect on water levels of White Bear Lake.
Rather, the model shows, a few public water suppliers pumping groundwater from
wells nearest the lake may be impacting water levels the most out of all the
permitted water appropriations within five miles of the lake.
DNR
also used the model to simulate a 25 percent reduction in pumping from all permitted
uses within five miles of White Bear Lake, using reported water use data from
permit holders from 1988 to 2016. This
is very different from the simulation that looked at impacts to lake levels
resulting from additional municipal pumping during the summer (representing
residential irrigation), and it produces different results.”)
White Bear Lake litigation status
DNR conservation assistance and regulation manager Julie Ekman provided an update on the status of litigation around White Bear Lake. In 2012 DNR was sued by local interests alleging that the agency had failed to protect White Bear Lake by mismanaging groundwater pumping permits in the area, causing the lake’s water level to fall. In August, a Ramsey County district court judge sided with the plaintiffs and issued a ruling placing restrictions on appropriations within five miles of White Bear Lake. In following the court’s order, DNR earlier this year issued revised groundwater appropriation permits with added conditions:
- Implement a residential irrigation ban whenever White Bear Lake drops to a level of 923.5 feet that remains in effect until the lake level reaches 924 feet.
- Revise water supply plans to include a strategy to change the source of water from groundwater to totally or partially from surface water.
- Develop plans for reducing per capita water use.
- Report on collaborative efforts with other northeast metro communities to reduce per capita water use.
As of March, DNR had received 20 demands for hearings before an administrative law judge to challenge the revised permits, Ekman said. She also noted that DNR attorneys were evaluating their next steps in response to the court ruling.
(NOTE: Subsequent to the advisory team meeting, the DNR filed an appeal with the Minnesota Court of Appeals on May 11, challenging the court’s decision and seeking a stay of its order.)
3M settlement
Steve Colvin, deputy director for DNR’s division of ecological and
water resources, summarized a settlement reached in February between the state
of Minnesota and the 3M Company. Minnesota’s attorney general sued 3M in 2010
alleging that the company’s production of chemicals known as PFCs had damaged
drinking water and natural resources in the east Twin Cities metro area. Under
the terms of the settlement, 3M made an $850 million grant to the state. After
legal and other expenses are paid, about $720 million will be available to be
used for projects that assure clean drinking water and healthy natural resources
in the east metro area. Allocation of funds will be overseen by the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency and the DNR in consultation with work groups made up
of representatives from the affected communities. The settlement is relevant to
the North and East Metro Groundwater Management Area for several reasons, Colvin
said, including:
- A significant amount of groundwater is being pumped within the
area to remediate contamination;
- Settlement funds might be used to protect groundwater recharge areas and to
promote water conservation.
Water
conservation activities
DNR project manager Dan Miller introduced Leo Steidel, a
consultant hired by DNR to help advance water conservation goals within the
management area by developing an online water use reporting tool. The DNR water conservation reporting system was rolled out in January, allowing public water suppliers to better track
water use and evaluate the results of conservation practices. 27 public
utilities in the groundwater management area participated in the pilot project,
Steidel said. One of the most important outcomes from it was simply getting
communities to pay closer attention to their water use and to be more aware of
conservation measures they can put into practice. Next steps will include publication
of a water conservation report, further efforts to provide training on using
the tool and working with commercial and industrial permitees to assist them with reporting water use and conservation. Steidel said the online reporting
tool is positioning Minnesota as a pioneer in water conservation efforts.
Feedback & input
Following the formal presentations, participants broke into small
groups to share success stories around water conservation, identify barriers
and opportunities for further progress, and offer suggestions for DNR in
relation to the groundwater management area’s conservation goals. Among the
items reported back out to the larger group:
- Stormwater re-use was identified as one of the prominent success
stories.
- Consideration of water conservation early on during land-use
planning and development phases was identified as a significant opportunity,
while the existence of many local codes requiring turf grass was mentioned as
an obstacle to water conservation efforts.
- Suggestions to DNR related to water conservation goals included
providing real-time water use tracking capabilities and getting away from
per-capita use as a measure of efficiency in communities with large industrial
users.
Next Meeting
The North and East Metro Groundwater Management Area advisory team will meet again towards the end of 2018. A meeting announcement detailing the date, time and location will be sent out in advance. Subscribe to North & East Metro Groundwater Management Area email updates at www.mndnr.gov/public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNDNR/subscriber/topics.
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