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MPR News | July 31, 2017
Forty percent of the state's lakes and streams are polluted, and many aren't safe for swimming or fishing.
Three out of four Minnesotans rely on ground water for drinking. But in many areas, it's contaminated with nitrates from fertilizer, animal waste or human sewage.
Current cleanup efforts are expected to result in a 6 to 8 percent improvement in water quality by 2034. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton says that's not enough. He has proposed a goal of 25 percent improvement by 2025.
"If you look at the map of Minnesota and some of the degradation of water quality, to say we're only going to improve it by 25 percent seems to be really inadequate, which it is," Dayton said. "But it's certainly a lot better than 6 to 8 percent, or even less."
Earlier this year, Dayton announced a series of town hall meetings to raise public awareness and generate discussion about Minnesota's water quality challenges. The first town hall is Monday in Rochester.
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KAAL-TV | July 31, 2017
Governor Mark Dayton was in Rochester Monday and spoke to
nearly 300 people about one of the hallmarks of his last term: water quality.
Dayton's 10 town hall visits are part of his "25 by
25" water quality proposal from earlier this year
Dayton said 97 ponds, streams and rivers were surveyed in
southwestern Minnesota and 93 of those were found unfit for wildlife, drinking,
or recreation.
Dayton also said some cases of well water testing in
southeastern Minnesota showed unsafe levels of nitrate for drinking water,
which was a big concern people came to the meeting with Monday.
"With fertilizers, I think we're getting more and more
nitrates, which can cause cancer, so I'm very concerned about that,"
Cecilia Dingledy said.
The
governor said Minnesota's water is everyone's water, which makes it everyone's
responsibility.
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Ten town hall meetings have been scheduled in communities across Minnesota. These town hall meetings are free to attend and open to the public. Each town hall meeting will run from 6:30-8:30 p.m. with registration beginning at 5:30 p.m. A complete list of dates and locations is available on the Environmental Quality Board website. RSVP for an event by visiting the Governor and Lt. Governor’s Facebook page. No advance registration is necessary.
KTTC-TV | July 31, 2017
Governor Mark Dayton has a goal of improving water quality
in the state, 25 percent by 2025. He says he needs the people's help because the state's water
belongs to everyone.
To do so he's hosting water quality town halls across the
state. On Monday in the Heintz Center, the room was packed, around
300 people ready to do their part to help improve Minnesota's waters. The Town hall is the first of ten scheduled across the
state. Some of the topics were the importance of controlling
sediment runoff from Lake Pepin and the use of cover crops.
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KIMT-TV | July 31, 2017
Nearly 300 people filled the Rochester Community Technical
College on Monday to brainstorm ways to counteract or improve local water
quality. Pollution and contamination of groundwater, rivers, and streams are
just a few of the concerns discussed.
"Water quality is a concern for everyone," says
Gov. Mark Dayton, as he invites the community to discuss ways to improve local
water quality.
Forty percent of the lakes and streams in Minnesota are not
meeting standards set for safe swimming, fishing or drinking. Dayton hopes to
improve the quality of water one percentage at a time, making a 25 percent
improvement by 2025.
Governor Dayton says everyone must participate in improving
the quality of the water if we want to see a change.
[Read More]
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