MDH Annual Report
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released its
annual report on the state of drinking water in Minnesota in
May. Once again, the results indicate few problems and that
drinking water supplies in the state are generally in very good
shape.
Topics discussed in the Emerging Issues section
include water system security and source water protection
as well as an update on rule revisions.
The report is on the world wide web at:
Englund Reaches the End
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/
water/com/dwar/report02.html
Past reports, back to 1995, are also available at this site.
MDH Assistant Commissioner Aggie Leitheiser presents a plaque
to Gary Englund, who, after nearly 33 years with the Minnesota
Department of Health drinking water program, called it a career
on May 2. Englund started as a staff engineer at the Health
Department in September 1969 and had been the program
manager for the Section of Drinking Water Protection since 1976.
He served as chair of the North Central Section (now the
Minnesota Section) American Water Works Association in 1981
and was a national director from 1990 to 1993.
Bock Tastes Best
Upcoming Certification Exam Dates
Roger and Margaret Girard are the water operator and mayor,
respectively, of Bock, which boasts some of Minnesota’s
best-tasting water as well as being, according to Margaret, the
smallest town in the state to have a nudie bar (it is left to the
readers to ponder the connection, if any, between these
distinctions) . Bock’s water won the taste test at the Minnesota
Rural Water Association Technical Conference in March. The
water comes from a pair of 95-foot-deep wells and is treated
with chlorine and fluoride to serve the city’s 106 residents in
addition to two other bars, a gas station, church, feed mill, post
office, and creamery.
Summer 2003
Volume Eleven/1
Inside:
June 5, Browns Valley
June 13, Deerwood
June 18, Monticello
September 12, St. Cloud
October 7, Aurora
October 16, Marshall
October 21, Apple Valley
October 29, Collegeville
October 31, Owatonna
December 4, Crookston
See calendar on back page for more details
Dealing with a Flood in Roseau
Disinfection Byproduct Monitoring
New Brighton Granular Activated Carbon Treatment Plant
Emergency Communication System Established
Arsenic Treatment Plants
Municipal Water Supply Emergency
Communication System Established
By Karla Peterson
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
recently announced Phase Two of the Arsenic
Treatment Demonstration Program. The Minnesota
Department of Health hopes that several Minnesota
communities will submit proposals, which include
information on water quality, available space for
equipment and wastewater disposal, and operator
availability. Last year, Minnesota had two communities
that qualified for the project.
The objective of the demonstration program is to
evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking
water treatment technologies to meet the new arsenic
maximum contaminant level of 10 micrograms per liter
for varying source water quality conditions. Treatment
technologies may be new or add-on and may include
process modifications and engineering approaches. The
program will evaluate the reliability of technologies for
small systems; gauge simplicity of operation, maintenance,
and required operator skills; determine costeffectiveness; and characterize treatment residuals.
Each participating community will be matched by the
EPA with a treatment technology and vendor. The
community will operate the treatment facility for one year,
and, at the end of the year, the community may choose
to continue using the treatment technology or return the
treatment equipment to the vendor. The results of the
demonstration program will be useful to other
communities in determining the most appropriate
treatment for their particular water quality.
Security Workshops
The Minnesota Department of Health and
Minnesota Rural Water Association (MRWA) have
been collaborating on half-day workshops on water
system security and vulnerability assessments,
specifically designed for systems serving populations
fewer than 10,000.
Several more will be held in 2003, including at
Minnesota American Water Works Association schools.
In addition to workshops at the Central District Water
School at Ruttger’s on June 12, the Southwest District
School in Marshall on October 16, and at the Northwest
District School in Crookston in early December,
MRWA will have the workshop as part of a day-long
training session in Fergus Falls on November 5.
The workshops focus on the security elements
required by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
for systems serving populations up to 10,000.
These systems will be able to complete their
vulnerability assessments with a Security Vulnerability
Self-Assessment Guide that is available on
the MDH Drinking Water web site at
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water and at the
MRWA site at http://www.mrwa.com.
A fact sheet and other information—including
the certification forms that must be submitted
after the assessment is completed—is available at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/security/community.html.
By Doug Mandy
The Minnesota Department of Health has contracted with
AVTEX Inc, to provide mass communications capabilities for use
in the event of an emergency, or to send out other security
information to interested parties. The Section of Drinking Water
Protection (DWP) will be using this system, as necessary, to
contact municipal water supplies, using emergency contact
information that was collected in November 2002.
The system can be used to contact municipalities by phone,
fax, or e-mail. The phone function can be set-up to leave
messages if it detects an answering machine, or to keep calling
down a list of numbers until it reaches a “live” contact. The
system can also be set up to require entry of a code to ensure
that the proper person is getting the message, and/or it can
require pressing a key to confirm that the message was received.
In most cases, we won’t use either of these confirmation
functions, as it will slow down the calling process. We will be
using the phone capability only if there is an emergency that you
should know about immediately. Fax and e-mail will be used to
transmit other pertinent security information that is not
time-sensitive.
DWP can activate the system by computer or by phone.
Unfortunately, when the computer is used to activate the system,
the automated phone message received by the municipality
sounds like Donald Duck after a night on the town, so we have
decided to use the phone-activated system when we send a phone
message.
Another unfortunate characteristic of the phone portion of the
system is that it will come across to the recipient very much like
a “courtesy” call from a telemarketer. There may be a slight
pause when you answer the phone before the message begins.
DO NOT HANG UP! If you hang up before the message is
complete, you will be called again. If you have caller ID, the
name displayed will be something like “AVTEX Inc.” or
“CityWatch.”
If you have any questions about the communication system,
please contact the DWP receptionist at 651/215-0770.
Top Ops Champions
Dave Brazil (left) and Steve Pitkanen (right) of the city of Eden Prairie
flank the master of ceremonies following their victory in the Top Ops
Competition at the 2003 Metro District Operators School. Charlie
Koucourek and Renee Oelrich of Minneapolis were runners-up. The
2004 Metro School will be Wednesday, March 31 to Friday, April 2.
2
Lessons from a Flood
“When you have a disaster, do what
that afternoon, the dike on the east side
you have to do to make it safe for your
of the Roseau River gave way. By this
people and to save your facilities. Don’t
time, help was on the way. The cities of
worry about spending money.”
Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks,
Jim Vickaryous, the utilities
which had experienced an even more
supervisor for Roseau, was speaking
disastrous flood five years before, sent
from experience after a flood ravaged his city in
employees to help, and federal assistance also
June of 2002. “If a disaster is declared,” he points
arrived. The National Guard flew in sandbags as
out, “federal money will be available.”
the roads were impassable. The Federal
A weekend of heavy rains in northwestern
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) came
Minnesota led to flooding in many areas. “There
in with trailers for temporary housing for its staff
was no official warning,” Vickaryous said,
as well as those from the Salvation Army, Red
“although it was apparent there was going to be
Cross, and Army Corps of Engineers.
trouble.
The water department’s shop, the only
“The river was predicted to rise to 18 feet, but
municipal building not flooded, became emergency
we knew by Monday afternoon it was going to be
management headquarters. “Every agency you
more than that. Warroad [20 miles to the east]
can possibly think of was there, and they were all
was flooding. And they should never flood. We
asking questions at the same time,” said Vickaryous.
Jim Vickaryous
knew if Warroad was flooding, we were really going to get
By Friday, the worst was over although the massive task
it.” The Roseau River did rise higher than predicted,
of cleanup and recovery was just beginning. For many
eventually reaching 23.3 feet, more than seven feet above
residents, Vickaryous included, some problems didn’t
flood stage.
emerge until several months later. “We didn’t have any
The evening of Monday, June 10, overland flooding began
water on the first floor of our home, but mold was under the
to inundate Roseau. “It came from the east and the west
subfloor.” This resulted in a respiratory illness that put
and the south, flooding every place and filling up the ditches
Vickaryous in the hospital in the fall. He had to tear out the
and the storm sewers. We built a dike to keep it away from
floor boards and scrub away the black mold. “It was disthe [water] plant. The plant probably would not have flooded,
gusting, the cleanup.”
but you don’t know that.”
Vickaryous learned much about the federal procedures
The water plant, along with the main business district, is
dealing with disaster aid. “We were in the emergency phase
on the north side of railroad tracks, which acted like a dike,
for 72 hours, then in the recovery phase,” he said, adding
sparing that part of the city from the worst effects of the
that different rules apply during each phase.
flood. The south end of town took the brunt of the waters,
“Document everything you do,” is Vickaryous’s advice for
but a couple of important facilities were saved. One was the
others. “Document the equipment you take out of your shop
electrical substation, which stayed dry because of Minn. Hwy.
and equipment you purchase. Save receipts. Also keep track
89, a north-south road that, like the railroad tracks, served as
of volunteer time and equipment. We lost thousands of
a natural dike. The other was Polaris Industries, the area’s
dollars in FEMA reimbursements because our recordkeeping
largest employer, where employees and other citizens stacked
wasn’t adequate.”
sandbags and used pumps to keep the water out.
Vickaryous said that in a disaster, FEMA will pay 75
“The decision had been made to save the hospital, the school,
percent of the costs and the state 15 percent, leaving the local
and Polaris. Without these, we wouldn’t have had anything
authorities to cover 10 percent. “Volunteer labor and
to build on.”
equipment has a dollar value. If you can document that, you
Ninety-eight percent of the homes and 95 percent of the
can apply it to your 10 percent and actually buy your costs
businesses in Roseau ended up flooded. While many of the
down.
city’s 2,800 residents dealt with saving their homes, city
“That’s important because our share was $5.2 million.”
employees focused on keeping municipal services operating.
Vickaryous also says establishing a good relationship with
Vickaryous said he and one of his operators, Erling Wensloff,
the federal authorities is important. They were able to get a
didn’t get home for three days. “If we hadn’t been working
television and cable hookup for one of the Corps of
for the city, we could have tried to save our own basements.
Engineers employees in the temporary housing. “After that,
Instead, we tried to save the plant.
what we wanted we got from the Corps. Do those little
“We never lost pressure and always kept our towers full
things. It’ll help.”
although it was nip-and-tuck for a couple of days.” Wensloff
Being prepared and having information in place before
added that the problem was compounded by water heaters in
disaster strikes is a real key in surviving such an event,
people’s basements floating up, breaking pipes and causing
Vickaryous says. “Find out who your local emergency
utility employees to have to turn off more than 300 curb
manager is and work with that person on your emergency
valves, which were often difficult to find under two-to-three
plan. Make sure you have phone numbers for the Corps, the
feet of water.
agencies, and your own people.
With the overland flooding subsiding on Tuesday, June 11,
“Do that all ahead of time because it’s just a blur when an
the town turned its energies to the river. However, at 2:30
emergency hits.”
3
New Brighton Cleans Up
“I still remember Gary
Englund coming to give the bad
news to the city council,” said
Les Proper.
In July of 1981, Englund was
head of the Minnesota
Department of Health’s
Section of Water Supply
and General Engineering (later
the Drinking Water Protection
Section) and has recently retired
from that post. Proper was in
his fourth year as public works
director for the city of New
Brighton, a position he still
holds. The bad news was the
discovery of trichloroethylene
(TCE) and other volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) in
the city’s water supply.
The Health Department
had been notified by the
Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency of the presence of TCE
in Round Lake in Arden Hills,
just to the east of the city line
with New Brighton. Englund
said they looked at the
direction of the groundwater
flow, which was southwest
toward the Mississippi River,
and began sampling both
municipal and private wells in
New Brighton. Some of the wells had TCE levels of several
hundred parts per billion (ppb), including a mobile home park
that had a well with 440 ppb. Although TCE wasn’t yet
regulated (it now has a maximum contaminant level of 5 ppb),
it was clear that there was a health risk that needed an
immediate response.
“They took the bull by the horns,” Englund said of New
Brighton city officials. “They started taking care of the
problem right away.”
From stop-gap measures to a long-term solution, New
Brighton responded to the crisis with a partnership and plan
that allows for remediation of a highly contaminated aquifer
while providing a safe supply of water for New Brighton as
well as a supplemental supply for the neighboring suburb of
Fridley.
Discovery of contamination
The sampling done by the
Twin Cities Army
Minnesota Department of
Ammunition Plant
Health in 1981 discovered
trichloroethylene, a degreasing
solvent extensively used by industry, along with quantities of
trichloroethane, dichloroethane,
and dichloroethylene. All are
suspected carcinogens.
New Brighton responded to
the contamination in several
ways. It began a weekly
testing program to monitor
contamination in the various
city wells and then changed the
sequencing of its pumping and
well use to draw water first
from the wells showing the least
contamination. The city also
implemented strict conservation
measures, including lawnsprinkling restrictions. Public
information was a key part of
the response, and Proper says
the residents, while concerned,
were cooperative.
Meanwhile, New Brighton
looked at its options for
dealing with the problem.
Treatment for the removal of
VOCs was an emerging
technology in the 1980s and not
seen as a viable choice at the time. Purchasing water from
the city of Minneapolis was considered but rejected. Finally,
the city decided to get away from the contaminated aquifer
and go deeper into the ground.
New Brighton stopped using wells 2 through 7. Its
remaining wells (8 and 9) were sealed off in the Prairie du
Chien and Jordan aquifers and extended into the Mt. SimonHinckley formation in addition to drilling three more deep
wells (numbers 10, 11, and 12).
Î
History
New Brighton drilled its first two municipal wells in the
1940s, a time when the area was emerging from a small
farming community to a bustling suburb of St. Paul. The
post-World War II baby boom swelled the population and
greatly increased water usage. By the 1970s, the city had
eight wells, all in the Prairie du Chien/Jordan formation, to
meet the demand, with treatment consisting of disinfection
and fluoridation.
Les Proper (left) with public works superintendent Dave Olson.
4
TCAAP’s tenants used production and waste-disposal
practices, including the release of contaminants into the soil,
that were widely accepted at the time. The result was a
large plume of contaminated groundwater beneath Arden
Hills, New Brighton, and St. Anthony. The plume, which
exists primarily in the upper portion of the Prairie du Chien
aquifer, is approximately six miles long and up to one mile
wide. Its axis runs beneath Silver Lake Road, a north-south
street in New Brighton. The plume is flowing at the rate of
approximately 1,000 feet per year toward the Mississippi River.
New Brighton filed suit against the U. S. Army, and in
1987 a landmark agreement was reached. The Army agreed
to reimburse all past city costs and to finance construction
and operation of a city-owned water treatment facility with
an innovative pump-and-treat approach that would serve the
dual purpose of providing a safe water supply to New Brighton
while also cleaning up the aquifer. In fact, the settlement
agreement between the city and the Army requires New
Brighton to use the treated water for at least 80 percent of its
total usage to ensure enough pumping to prevent migration of
contaminants to other parts of the aquifer and to hasten the
remediation process.
The result of this agreement has been Minnesota’s largest
groundwater cleanup process.
Water from the deeper aquifer was free of the harmful
contaminants but was high in iron, which causes aesthetic
problems. “We got the first two wells in and had horrible
iron problems,” said Proper, adding that the residents “at least
knew it was iron and not TCE and were thankful to have the
aesthetic problem rather than the chronic problem.”
Nevertheless, the city dealt with the aesthetic issues by
installing iron-removal devices at four of the five wells (all
but well number 9). “Iron is pretty easy to precipitate out,”
Proper explained. “With aeration and chlorine, the iron comes
right out, and it goes through a sand filter, and they can
backwash that out.” The wells pumped into the gravity filter,
and a booster pump then sent the water from the bottom of
the filter into the distribution system.
While effective, the measures were costly. The addition
of the wells and filters came to more than $3 million, an
amount financed with grants as well as levies on the citizens,
who passed a bond referendum.
Identification of source
By 1984, the groundwater contamination had become one
of the largest Superfund sites in Minnesota. A 24-squaremile area, which includes portions of New Brighton, St.
Anthony, Arden Hills, Shoreview, Mounds View, Columbia
Heights, and Minneapolis, was placed on the national
priorities list.
This area included the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant
(TCAAP), a 3.75-square-mile site in Arden Hills to the
northeast of Round Lake, and it was becoming clear that this
was the source of the TCE contamination. A governmentowned, contractor-operated federal facility, TCAAP moved
onto the site in 1941, and its primary purpose had been the
production of ammunition in support of military operations.
Treatment
With the addition of treatment, the city was able to go back
to the wells it had discontinued. Of those, only wells 3 and 4
drew from both the Prairie du Chien and Jordan, which are
hydraulically connected. The other five drew water
exclusively from the Jordan. Fearing that too much pumping
from the Jordan could draw the contamination downward
through the dolomite in the Prairie du Chien formation, the
city relied more on the multi-aquifer wells while completely
abandoning two of the Jordan wells (numbers 2 and 7).
After studying a variety of treatment alternatives, New
Brighton opted for granular activated carbon (GAC) as the
means of removing the VOCs from the water. A temporary
GAC system was designed by Barr Engineering Company of
Edina and used in 1988 and 1989 before the Permanent
Granular Activated Carbon (PGAC) plant, with a capacity of
5 million gallons per day, opened in June of 1990.
The PGAC plant consists of 16 vessels, each 24 feet high
and filled with 20,000 pounds of carbon, which provides a
column 10 feet in diameter and approximately nine-and-ahalf feet deep. The effectiveness of the granular activated
carbon is based on the surface area provided by its enormous
porosity. One of the informational signs in the plant points
out that a handful of GAC has the surface area of a football
field. As the water goes through the vessels, the organic
impurities adhere to the surface of the carbon granules.
Screened nozzles at the bottom retain the carbon within the
vessel while allowing the water to pass through.
The vessels are grouped into eight pairs, and the incoming
water is split evenly between the pairs. The water passes
through each pair in series, first through the lead vessel and
then through the lag vessel. In between the vessels is an
instrument panel showing the influent pressure, effluent
pressure, and flow rate.
The Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills was
identified as the source of the trichloroethylene plume.
Continued on page 6
5
with the Army and the city went back to its wells in the
Prairie du Chien/Jordan formation, the south plume began
The use of two vessels provides a high level of protection
receding.
with the lag vessel ensuring the removal of the contaminants
Around the same time the Fridley interconnection and
to non-detectable levels. The water is sampled on a regular
PGRS was being completed, the city drilled two more wells.
basis, and when the monitoring indicates that the organic
“The Army felt they could get more mass removal with better
impurities are not being completely removed, the carbon in
located wells,” Proper said. “The addition of wells 14 and
the lead vessels is replaced. The carbon is transferred
15, which go to PGAC, went into a different part of the
into and out of the vessels through pressurized hoses
aquifer that was drawing more iron and manganese. So the
on bulk-transport trucks. The used carbon is then
Army paid for an addition to the PGAC plant and new
recycled and used in wastewater treatment processes.
greensand pressure filters to remove iron
After carbon is replaced in the lead
and manganese.”
vessels, the order of treatment in the
An addition to the PGAC plant was made
vessels is reversed. The vessel that has not
to house the pressure filters, which consist
had its carbon replaced becomes the first in
of 12 inches of anthracite coal on top of 18
line, and the one with the fresh carbon
inches of manganese greensand with a 12becomes the lag vessel. This ensures that
inch gravel base. Air, chlorine, and potasthere is always an unused supply of carbon
sium permanganate are injected into the
to remove any traces of contaminants that
water to oxidize the iron and manganese
might pass through the lead vessel.
prior to the water entering the filters. The
Following the opening of the PGAC
anthracite coal filters out the large-sized iron
facility, changes continued with the
and manganese particles. The manganese
treatment process in the early-to-mid 1990s.
greensand not only removes the smaller iron
The Army wanted more water pumped
and manganese particles, but, because of
as a means of containing the aquifer. The
its unique chemical properties, also oxidizes
remediation goal was 4.6 million gallons per
any manganese remaining in solution.
day, much more than the city can use. To
The filters, each 10 feet in diameter and
solve this issue, New Brighton entered into
an agreement with Fridley to take the ex- Each of the vessels at the PGAC plant 43 feet long, are divided into five separate
contains 20,000 pounds of carbon.
cells to provide the water velocities required
cess water. A 20-inch interconnecting pipeto backwash the filter, which is done about once a week.
line now runs between the cities. “We use it all,” said Dave
Each cell has separate piping and valves for the water inlets
Olson, New Brighton’s public works superindendent. “That
and backwash water outlets.
which we can’t use, we send to Fridley.” Fridley pays only
for the chemical addition of the water sent from New Brighton.
On-Site Cleanup
The development of a second contamination plume brought
While New Brighton does its part to clean up the aquifer
about another change, the construction of a second
and provide its residents with safe drinking water, the Army
treatment plant, the Plume Groundwater Recovery System
has proceeded with cleanup efforts of its own on the site.
(PGRS), and drilling of a well to serve that facility.
The Army initiated soil cleanup to remove subsurface
The original plume encompassed the city’s existing well
contaminants before they reach the groundwater and also
field. The new one, to the south and east, appeared to be
installed a “Boundary Groundwater Recovery System,”
emanating from the site of Alliant Techsystems (formerly
consisting of 17 extraction wells—12 around the perimeter of
Honeywell), one of the contractors at TCAAP. “Alliant
the installation and five inside it, close to the sources of
Techsystems and the Army came to a facilities agreement
contamination—to block further migration of contaminated
where they divided up some responsibility for the
groundwater. The wells extract 110-to-125 gallons of
contamination on the site,” explained Proper. “We suggested
contaminated water each month for treatment at a large plant
to Alliant that they let us handle it with a second treatment
on-site where four air stripping towers remove the
plant, similar to what had been done with the north plume.
contaminants. The treated water is then sent to a gravel pit at
We partnered with them and built that facility.”
the center of the installation to replenish the aquifer.
The PGRS is similar in operation to the PGAC plant
This system is projected to reduce trichloroethylene levels
although much smaller, containing just six carbon vessels, each
in the aquifer from an average of 2,000 parts per billion to 20
24 feet high and 14 feet in diameter. The PGAC plant was
ppb in 50-70 years of operation.
designed for 3,200 gallons per minute (gpm), the PGRS for
1,200 gpm.
Current Status
The new well and PGRS facility was sited next to the city
The Army no longer uses TCAAP to produce ammunition,
garage, about a mile east of the PGAC plant. However, Proper
but it proceeds with its remediation efforts in what has
said the south plume “never really materialized the way they
become Minnesota’s largest Superfund site and what remains
expected it would” and offers a theory as to why. Proper
as one of the largest trichloroethylene plumes in the country.
believes that the original plume shifted, creating the south
The city of New Brighton continues playing an important
plume, as a result of their shutting off the water supply from
role in this process as its residents enjoy a plentiful supply of
the Prairie du Chien and Jordan aquifers and switching to the
safe drinking water as a result.
Mt. Simon-Hinckley in the 1980s. After the deal was reached
Continued from page 5
6
Disinfection Byproduct Monitoring
Typhoid Truelsen
The EPA recently published its Stage 1 Disinfectants and
Disinfection Byproduct (DBP) Rule, the goal of which is the
reduction of disinfection byproducts in water supplies that add a
disinfectant. This rule lowers the maximum contaminant level
(MCL) for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) to 80 micrograms per
liter and establishes an MCL for five haloacetic acids (HAA5) at
60 micrograms per liter. The rule became effective for larger
surface water systems on January 1, 2002 and will require
compliance from groundwater systems (as well as surface
water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people) beginning
January 1, 2004.
Monitoring requirements are dependent on a given system’s
size and water source. Surface water systems of all sizes have
already begun monitoring for TTHMs and HAA5s. Monitoring
at groundwater systems serving a population of 10,000 or greater
began this year. Half of these systems are conducting initial
quarterly monitoring during 2003, while half will monitor quarterly in 2004. MDH will send a TTHM/HAA5 sampling kit to
each system quarterly over the designated calendar year.
Similarly, small groundwater systems serving a population of fewer
than 10,000 conduct initial annual monitoring in 2003 and 2004.
Because of limited laboratory capacity, MDH has developed
an EPA-approved flexible monitoring schedule for small
groundwater systems. MDH field engineers will sample
systems that serve fewer than 1,000 people. The remaining
systems (serving between 1,000 and 10,000 people) will be
required to collect their own annual sample. In all cases, a single
sample will be required in either 2003 or 2004. Each specific
system will be scheduled for sampling during a single week
during the four months of July to October. This staggered
sampling schedule will help avoid delays in analysis of Minnesota’s
552 small groundwater system’s TTHM/HAA5 samples.
In order to determine whether the MDH flexible schedule is
effective, EPA is requiring the collection of monthly temperature
measurements. For this reason, MDH will be requesting
operators’ assistance with measurement and submission of
water temperatures from small groundwater systems. Written
information, a Water Temperature Monthly Report form, and a
TTHM/HAA5 sample kit will be shipped to all affected small
groundwater systems (excluding those serving fewer than 1,000
people).
Stage 1 DBP Rule monitoring takes place at untreated taps in
the distribution system. TTHM/HAA5 samples must be taken
from a location (drinking water taps located at or within a
building) that reflects the point of maximum water residence time
in the system. All samples must be collected from the same tap.
Water temperature measurements, if performed, must be
conducted on water collected at the TTHM/HAA5 sample
location. MDH is requesting systems to record up to four monthly
water temperature measurements, one per month, during the
July-to-October monitoring period.
MDH will report monitoring results to each system when
results are available. MDH expects very few, if any, systems
will exceed MCLs for TTHMs or HAA5s. In these rare cases,
monitoring frequency would increase to quarterly. Furthermore,
it is anticipated that most systems will qualify for reduced
monitoring (one sample every three years) based on the initial
monitoring of 2003-2004.
7
Buried in Duluth’s Park Hill Cemetery, Henry C. Truelsen
was elected mayor of Duluth in 1896 after fighting
successfully against the city’s purchase of the local
drinking water system, which was then privately owned. A
boom town at the time, Duluth’s expanding population
stretched the capacity of the water works, and typhoid
was rampant within the city. Truelsen’s work to defeat an
1894 referendum that would have purchased the system
for $2 million delayed the city’s acquisition of the utility and
resulted in his being nicknamed “Typhoid” Truelsen by the
current mayor. After Truelsen was elected, the city
purchased the water works for $1.25 million and then built
the Lakewood Plant on Lake Superior (below). This facility,
still in operation today as a pumping station, served as the
city’s water treatment facility until a new plant was built
across the street from it in 1976. Truelsen was re-elected
in 1898 but was defeated by five votes in his bid for a third
term two years later.
Pump Installation
Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4725, and Minnesota
Statutes, 103I, require that the installation of pumps or
pumping equipment be done only by a person licensed as
a pump installer (limited well and boring contractor) by
MDH. Certified water operators cannot install pumps
unless they are specifically licensed for those activities.
Questions regarding these requirements may be directed
to the MDH Well Management Section at 651/215-0811.
“Service to others is our rent here on
earth.”
—Muhammed Ali
CALENDAR
Water Operator Training
Minnesota Section, American Water
Works Association
American Water Works Association
Teleconference
November 6, Water Quality, Brooklyn Park, St. Paul, Duluth, North
Mankato, and Grand Forks. Contact
Stew Thornley, 651/215-0771.
Minnesota Rural Water Association
Contact Kyle Kedrowski,
1/800/367-6792.
*June 11-13, Central Waterworks
*June 5, Operation & Maintenance,
Operators School, Ruttger’s Bay Lodge,
Browns
Valley
Deerwood. Contact Bill Spain,
*June
18, Operation & Maintenance,
320/654-5952.
Monticello
Annual Conference, October 1-3,
September 10, Operation &
Moorhead, Contact Steve Schneider,
Maintenance,
Chatfield
651/266-6324.
*Suburban Superintendents School
*September
10-12, Certification
*October 16, Southwest Water
October 21, Contact Carol Blommel, Exam Prep, St. Cloud
Operators School, Marshall. Contact Apple Valley, 952/953-2441.
September 18, Operation &
John Blomme, 507/537-7308.
Maintenance,
Isle
*October 29, Central Water
*October
7, Operation &
Operators School, St. John’s University,
Maintenance,
Aurora
Collegeville. Contact Bill Spain,
MRWA Training for
October 8, Securing Financing for
320/654-5952.
Non-Municipal Systems
Small
Systems, Willmar
*October 31, Southeast Water
October
9, Securing Financing for
Minnesota
Rural
Water
Association
Operators School, Owatonna. Contact
Small
Systems,
St. Cloud
September
24,
Waconia
Paul Halvorson, 507/292-5193.
October
28,
Operation & MainteOctober
8,
Aurora
*December 2-4, Northwest Water
nance,
Wood
Lake
Operators School, Northland Inn,
November 5, Water System Security
Crookston. Contact Stew Thornley,
and
Operation & Maintenance, Fergus
651/215-0771.
Falls
December 10, Winterizing Your
*Schools/meetings marked with an asterisk include a water certification exam.
Water System, Bemidji
To be eligible to take a certification exam, applicants must have hands-on
December 11, Winterizing Your
operations experience at a drinking water system.
Water System, St. Cloud
For an up-to-date list of events,
check the training calendar on the MDH web site at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/einfo/wat_op_sched.html
MDH Drinking Water Protection web page:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water
Section of Drinking Water Protection
121 E. 7th Place Suite 220
P. O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED