Certification Is Changing
Pretty Pumphouses
In 1997 the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued
operator certification guidelines. Although the current Minnesota
Department of Health (MDH) requirements follow the EPA guidelines
in most areas, a few certification rules will change by 2001:
• The existing MDH certification program requires only
community water systems to employ a certified water operator.
This rule change will establish certification requirements for 650
nontransient noncommunity water systems. Common types of
nontransient noncommunity water systems are those serving
schools, day care centers, factories, and businesses.
June 16, Deerwood
There are currently four water system class levels—A, B, C,
and D. The levels are based on the degree of hazard to public
health together with the type of plant and the population affected.
Soon there will be a new “E” system classification for
groundwater systems that have no treatment and serve under
500 people. The majority of the 650 nontransient noncommunity systems will be classified at this new level. These systems
will be required to employ an appropriately certified operator.
• Currently, when an operator allows a certificate to lapse, he or
she may apply for reinstatement for up to three years from the
expiration date of the certificate. This reinstatement period will
be reduced to one year.
The MDH will mail copies of the new rule to all certified operators
when it becomes effective.
October 5, Marshall
CCR Guidance Booklet Published
•
Pumphouses are designed to be functional. But
more and more, water utilities are making efforts to
construct them in ways that they blend in with the
surroundings, such as this one in Chanhassen. For a
look at more aesthetically pleasing pumphouses, see
the story on page 3.
Upcoming Certification
Exam Dates
October 17, Brooklyn Center
October 25, Collegeville
October 27, Red Wing
November 30, Detroit Lakes
See calendar on back page
for more information
Summer 2000
Volume Eight/1
Inside:
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has issued a
16-page guidance booklet on preparing and distributing Consumer
Confidence Reports (CCRs). The book is been tailored for Minnesota
community water suppliers, all of which receive a ready-made report
from MDH each year. The booklet was sent out with the ready-made
reports to all water superintendents in March. It was also sent to the
city clerk or system owner. To receive additional copies of the booklet,
call the MDH Drinking Water Message Center—651/215-1324 in the
Twin Cities metropolitan area, 1/800/818-9318 in Greater
Minnesota.
The deadline for this year’s CCR production and distribution
is July 1.
MDH Releases Annual Drinking Water Report
Scott Anderson Travels to Guatemala for Water for People
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule Update
List of MDH Water Publications
Water for People in Guatemala
Good News Again
Scott Anderson, chair of the Water for People Committee
of the Minnesota Section of American Water Works
Association (AWWA), had the chance to view his efforts up
close in March. Scott spent ten days in Guatemalas, touring
Water for People projects, most of which are located in the
mountain area in the Quiche region north of Guatemala City.
At one of the projects, community members had to dig a
2.5-mile long, two-foot deep ditch by hand for the placement
of a water main to supply their village. “It was exciting to
see the whole community working together in the
construction of the water system that will deliver water to
each home,” said Scott. The country coordinator for Water
for People has trained farmers—many of whom have less
than a sixth-grade education—to become masons, land
surveyors, draftsmen, and construction foremen. “Their
workmanship is outstanding, considering that everything is
done by hand,” Scott added. “It gave me great pleasure to
witness the effective use of the money we send to support
the projects and all the training that is conducted with the
local people.” Water for People works with developing
countries and helps rural communities with their water
supplies. Scott has been a tireless worker on behalf of Water for People and is a familiar figure, along with his bucket,
at AWWA schools and events to sell raffle tickets as part of
his fund-raising efforts.
The Minnesota Department of Health released its annual report
on the state of drinking water in Minnesota on May 8. Assistant
Commissioner Aggie Leitheiser announced the results of
monitoring done in 1999 at a press conference at Minneapolis
Water Works. Once again, the results indicate few problems
and that drinking water supplies in the state are generally in
very good shape. The report is on the world wide web at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/dwp/pws/
dwpreport99.html
Technical Instructor Seminar
American Water Works Association (AWWA) is offering
a Technical Instructor Seminar free to all members. The
class is designed for water professionals who have a great
deal of technical knowledge but little experience in
presenting and training. The Technical Instructor Seminar is
a hands-on workshop that includes information on
organizing a presentation, designing instructor materials,
identifying different types of learning, planning for
continuous improvement, and increasing learning through
questioning. While the two-day seminar—November 13 and
14 in Rancho Cucamongo, California—is free, participants
will have to cover their own travel and lodging expenses.
For more information, contact Mayme Larson of AWWA at
303/347-6204.
Correction:
The quiz in the Spring 2000 Waterline had an incorrect
answer to the question regarding the pH of a chlorinated
water with the highest concentration of hypochlorous acid.
The correct answer is 5.
Scott Anderson and friends in Guatemala
Water and Baseball Stadiums
Somehow the subject of water received prominent play in
wasn’t adequate and Richfield’s proximity to the
the new book by Jay Weiner, Stadium Games: Fifty Years
Minneapolis sewer system allowed Richfield to play the role
of Big League Greed and Bush League
of community plumber. Without the
Boondoggles. In discussing the con- “When you call up a hot Richfield link between Minneapolis and
struction of Metropolitan Stadium in
Bloomington, all the toilets wouldn’t have
suburban Bloomington in the mid-1950s, tootsie for a date, you’re flushed in the new stadium.”
Weiner points out that the Metropolitan not going to go to the
On the back cover of Weiner’s book is
Sports Area Commission, was initially
a quote from then-governor Arne Carlson
backed by the city of Minneapolis and water treatment plant.”
on why the Minneapolis riverfront needs a
Bloomington. Weiner adds, “Later, another
new ballpark: “When you call up a hot
inner-ring suburb, Richfield, would be added to the
tootsie for a date,” said Carlson, “you’re not going to go to
commission’s makeup because Bloomington’s water supply
the water treatment plant.”
2
Pumphouses Designed for Function as Well as Attractiveness
The pumphouse for Brooklyn Park’s Well No. 11, constructed
in 1981, is an octogon with cedar siding.
Eden Prairie was required to make the structure housing its
Well No. 11 blend in with the surrounding buildings.
Water towers may be the most visible aspect of a water system, and many communities make efforts to make the tanks on
their towers attractive and eye-catching. Another part of a utility’s infrastructure, pumphouses, are less visible—at least to
the masses. However, those who live or work near a pumphouse see it all the time, and they care about whether the structure
blends in with the existing architecture or whether it stands out as an eyesore. Therefore, water utilities are working harder
to make the buildings that house their wells and pumps both functional and visually friendly.
The city of Brooklyn Park felt this need going back to the early 1980s when it built a 1,000 square foot pumphouse in the
midst of an emerging housing development. To reduce its stark and utilitarian look, the city designed an octagon and used
cedar siding for the exterior. “A plain old pumphouse within a housing development doesn’t look real hot,” says Brooklyn
Park water superintendent Mike TerWisscha.
Eden Prairie water superintendent Ed Sorenson says they’ve kept the same concerns in mind with the pumphouses they’ve
built in recent years. The pumphouse for their Well No. 7, built in 1988, is a split-level structure, built in that manner to house
a combination electrical/mechanical engine with care taken to have it blend with adjacent houses. “Things are changing,” he
says. “In the past, these were built only with function in mind. Now we have to also adapt to the surroundings.”
The pumphouse for Eden Prairie’s Well No. 11 was constructed with two-tone gray rusticated stone to match an office
building behind it. The design was a stipulation the city had to accept to get the property.
Another pumphouse, by the entrance to the Eden Prairie city hall, actually has another function in addition to its primary
purpose. This one has an electric signboard with messages about city business and community events.
Paying more attention to the look of pumphouses is something Sorenson takes in stride. “There’s a lot of politics to water,”
he says, “in many ways—above and below the ground.”
A split-level structure contains a well and combination pump
on Valley View Road in Eden Prairie.
The wellhouse by the entrance to Eden Prairie City Hall has an
added function—electric message boards.
3
Water Publications Available
Here is a list of brochures, fact sheets, and other informational literature available from the Minnesota Department of
Health Drinking Water program. To receive copies of these publications, please call 651/215-0700. Many of the publications
are also on the MDH web site at http://health.state.mn.us.
Boil Water Notices for Bacteriological Contamination:
Commonly Asked Questions and Answers, 141-0308
Contains information in a question-and-answer format
regarding what people should do when bacteriological
contamination is detected in their water system’s supply.
Intended for the general public, primarily in situations where
bacteriological contamination exists.
Monitoring and Testing of Drinking Water in Minnesota,
141-0794
Provides an overview of how drinking water supplies are
tested in Minnesota. Intended for the general public.
Point-of-Use Water Treatment Units for Lead Reduction,
141-0717
Provides basic information on treatment units available for
the reduction of lead in drinking water. Intended for the
general public.
Coliform Bacteria, 141-0716
Explains the role of coliforms in detecting contamination,
sources of coliform bacteria, and health effects of waterborne diseases. Intended for the general public as well as
public water suppliers.
Public Drinking Water Program: The State’s Role in
Administering and Enforcing the Safe Drinking Water
Act, 141-0201
Outlines the function of the drinking water program at the
Minnesota Department of Health. Intended for public
officials but also suitable for the general public.
Copper in Drinking Water: Health Effects and How to
Reduce Exposure, 141-0718-2
Explains health effects of copper exposure, how it enters
drinking water, and what people can do to reduce their
exposure. Intended for the general public.
Radium in Drinking Water, 141-0505
Addresses questions on the regulations, health effects, and
options that communities have to address the issue of radium
in drinking water. Intended for public officials and the
general public.
Cryptospordium, 141-0671
Explains what Cryptospordium is and what is being done in
Minnesota to deal with potential contamination problems.
Intended for the general public.
Safe Clean Drinking Water: Available Across Minnesota,
141-0111
Contains facts about drinking water in Minnesota and
explains the role of water utilities and the Minnesota
Department of Health in protecting drinking water.
Intended for the general public.
Drinking Water Disinfection and Disinfection
By-Products, 141-0585
Explains the benefits of disinfection of drinking water as well
as the potential for the creation of harmful disinfection byproducts. Intended for the general public.
Drinking Water Standards for Contaminants:
Microbiological, Radiological, and Inorganic
Contaminants,141-0791
Contains an explanation and the standards for
microbiological, radiological, and inorganic contaminants.
Intended for the general public.
Waterline
Published quarterly by the Drinking Water Protection
Section of the Minnesota Department of Health
Editor: Stew Thornley
Staff: Dick Clark, Noel Hansen, Jeanette Boothe
Drinking Water Standards for Contaminants: Volatile and
Synthetic Organic Chemicals, 141-0795
Contains an explanation and the standards for volatile and
synthetic organic chemicals. Intended for the general public.
To request this document in another format,
call 651/215-0700; TDD 651/215-0707 or toll-free
through the Minnesota Relay Service,
1/800/627-3529 (ask for 651/215-0700).
Home Water Treatment Units: Point-of-Use Devices,
141-0501
Contains information on different types of point-of-use
water treatment units and the types of problems they are
designed to deal with. Intended for the general public.
Metro School 2001
The Metro District Education Committee has
recommended that the school be moved to the Earle Brown
Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. However, by the time
the recommendation was made, all dates in April were booked
at the Heritage Center. As a result, the 2001 school will be
back at the Thunderbird from Wednesday, April 4 to Friday,
April 6. The 2002 school may be at the Earle Brown
Heritage Center.
Let it run . . . and get the lead out! 141-0715; also available
in Hmong (141-0306) and Spanish (141-0305)
Explains the health effects of lead exposure, how it enters
drinking water, and what people can do to reduce their
exposure. Intended for the general public.
4
Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule
Work Progresses
on Minneapolis Reservoir
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has modified the rules pertaining to unregulated
contaminant monitoring, and these changes will take
effect beginning in 2001. Here is an overview of the
requirements of the new Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR) and an explanation of the
impact of the rules on public water suppliers in
Minnesota.
An unregulated contaminant is a contaminant for which
testing is required by the drinking water rules—but for
which no drinking water standard or maximum
contaminant level (MCL) has been set.
The EPA uses the results of the unregulated
contaminant monitoring to decide if a contaminant
occurs often enough in drinking water wells, and at high
enough levels, to warrant regulating the contaminant
which means setting an MCL and schedule for sampling.
The new Minneapolis Water Works reservoir in New Brighton is
taking shape. The 40-million-gallon structure will increase the
system’s storage capacity by 30 percent. The construction is unique
in that expansion joints, which can be a source of leaks, are not
being used. Instead, control joints are being placed every 36 feet.
In addition, the contractors are following a checkerboard schedule
for the construction. “After pouring one panel, they will not pour
another panel for 14 days,” explains Galina Izraelev, the design
engineer for Minneapolis Water Works. Izraelev says she thinks
this is the largest structure of its type in North America without
expansion joints. The reservoir is one part of a massive capital
improvement project that will include the testing, design, and
construction of membrane ultra-filtration facilities at the utility’s
Columbia Heights and Fridley plant areas.
Site Inspection for New Wells Moves
to Source Water Protection
Public water supplies are required to obtain approval from
MDH for new wells and water systems prior to construction.
Until recently, the preliminary site inspection for the location of a
new well was performed by district engineers in the Public
Water Supply Unit.
Now with the implementation of the Source Water Protection
(SWP) program, the inspection of new community well locations
will be completed by the Source Water Protection Unit. This is to
ensure that the proposed location of a new well meets the
standards of the SWP program.
For example, to protect groundwater that will be used by the
new well, it is important that the well be placed anadequate
distance from potential contaminant sources.
To inquire about site inspections for new wells, contact the
Source Water Protection planner in your area:
Northern Minnesota—Beth Kluthe, 218/755-4173
Central Minnesota—Mike Howe, 320/255-4216
West Metro, Southwestern and South Central Minnesota—
Terry Bovee, 507/389-6597
East Metro and Southeastern Minnesota—Art Persons,
507/292-5138
5
Which systems will monitor under the UCMR?
All systems serving more than 10,000 people (there
are 74 such systems in Minnesota) must monitor for the
unregulated contaminants, and 16 smaller systems,
serving 10,000 or fewer people, have been randomly
selected by EPA for unregulated contaminant
monitoring in Minnesota.
Which contaminants will be monitored?
The following contaminants will be monitored: 2,4dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene, acetochlor, DCPA mono
acid, DCPA di acid, 4,4-DDE, EPTC, molinate, MTBE,
nitrobenzene, perchlorate, and terbacil. Additional
contaminants will be monitored at some of the water
systems but these systems have not been selected yet.
How often will the contaminants be monitored?
Each system that must monitor will do so during a
one-year time period between 2001 and 2003.
Groundwater systems will monitor twice in the one-year
period with one sample collected during the most
vulnerable period, May to July, and the other sample
collected within six months of the time the vulnerable
sample was collected. Surface water systems will
collect four quarterly samples within a one year period.
Samples will be collected at the entry points to the
distribution system similar to where most of the other
contaminants are monitored.
Who will collect the samples and pay for the
analyses?
MDH field staff will collect all of the samples. The
cost of analyses for the large systems will be paid by
MDH from the service connection fee fund. The small
systems will have the analyses paid for by the EPA.
If you have any questions about unregulated
contaminant monitoring, please call Dick Clark at
651/215-0747.
CALENDAR
Water Operator Training
Minnesota Section, American
Water Works Association
*June 14-16, Central Water
Operators School, Ruttger’s Bay
Lodge, Deerwood. Contact Dick Nagy,
320/587-5151.
Annual Conference, September
13-15, Holiday Inn, Mankato. Contact
Scott Franzmeier, 651/290-6285.
*October 5, Southwest Water
Operators School, Best Western,
Marshall. Contact John Blomme,
507/537-7308.
*October 25, Central Water
Operators School, St. John’s University,
Collegeville. Contact Dick Nagy,
320-234-4222.
*October 27, Southeast Water Operators School, Red Wing. Contact Paul
Halvorson, 507/285-7289.
*November 28-30, Northwest Water
Operators School, Holiday Inn,
Detroit Lakes. Contact Stew Thornley,
651/215-0771.
Minnesota Rural Water Association
Contact Kyle Kedrowski, 1/800/3676792.
June 7, Conservation, Chatfield.
June 21, Treatment, Warren.
September 19, Treatment, New
Richland.
September 21, Treatment, Pine City.
October 25, Distribution Operation &
Maintenance, Eveleth.
November 8, Securing Financing for
Small Systems, New Ulm.
November 9, Securing Financing for
Small Systems, St. Cloud.
December 12, Winterizing Your
Water System, Mankato.
December 13, Winterizing Your
Water System, St. Cloud.
*Suburban Superintendents School
October 17, Brooklyn Center Civic
Center. Contact John Hill, 763/531-1166.
Wastewater Training
Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency
Contact Emily Armistead, 651/296-7251.
Minnesota Rural Water Association
Contact Pete McPherson, 1/800/3676792.
June 15, Stabilization Ponds, Hawley.
August 16, Operation & Maintenance,
Luverne.
August 22, Operation & Maintenance,
Lake City.
September 12, Collection System
Operation & Maintenance, Coleraine.
October 3, Stabilization Ponds and
Collection System Operation &
Maintenance, Hackensack.
October 26, Math and Operation &
Maintenance, Karlstad.
December 5, Operation & Maintenance, Elbow Lake.
AWWA Teleconference
November 2, Automation, Brooklyn
Park and Grand Forks. Contact Stew
Thornley, 651/215-0771.
*Schools/meetings marked with an asterisk include a water certification exam.
To be eligible to take a certification exam,
applicants must have hands-on operations experience at a drinking water system.
Minnesota Department of Health
121 E. 7th Place Suite 220
P. O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED