Safe Drinking Water Week Proclaimed
A Winning Water Poster
Governor Mark Dayton proclaimed May 5-11 as Safe Drinking
Water Week in Minnesota, and Lt. Governor Yvonne Prettner
Solon (left) presented the proclamation to Minnesota
Department of Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger. During
Safe Drinking Water Week the Health Department released its
drinking water annual report, which is at http://www.health.
state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/com/dwar/report2012.pdf.
Water Operator Exam Dates
September 25, Zumbrota
October 9, Fairmont
October 17, St. Cloud
October 18, Owatonna
October 23, Collegeville
November 20, Clarks Grove
December 5, Bemidji
December 11, Biwabik
See calendar on back page for more information
Fall 2013 Volume Twenty-one/5
Inside:
Connor Hagarty of Bluffview Montessori School in Winona
displays the winning poster on water for a contest held in
conjunction with World Water Day. For Hagarty’s art work
and creativity, his school received a bottle filling station.
The contest was funded by grants from the Minnesota
Department of Health as well as H2O for Life, Dow Water
and Process Solutions, Bongard Corporation/Elkay, and the
Minnesota Section of American Water Works Association. All of
the winning posters may be seen at http://tinyurl.com/n6qka8j.
Belgrade Builds New Treatment Plant
School Registration Information
Reminders for Water Operators
Magnificent Manholes Belgrade Avoids Arsenic with New Wells and Treatment Plant
The central Minnesota city of
Belgrade has been supplying water
to its residents for nearly 70 years.
Its first plant was built in 1945, and
in 1961 the city added gravity filters to remove iron and manganese.
A 28,000-gallon tank for backwash
was built in 1995.
As Belgrade grew to more than
700 people at the turn of the century, the city also faced the news
that the federal standard for arsenic
would be lowered soon. In 2006,
the maximum contaminant level
(MCL) went down from 50 parts
per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb.
At the time, Belgrade was using two wells adjacent to the
treatment plant. One was low in arsenic, but the other had
levels around 40 ppb. By blending the wells, the city was
able to comply with the stricter MCL—barely. The “barely”
was added by public works superintendent Tony Olson, who
also said that the low-arsenic well was “slowing down,” leading to fears that it would not be able to continue to produce
enough water needed for the blending.
The treatment facility was also showing its age, and it was
apparent action was needed for the city to continue to meet
its average daily demand of 90,000 gallons and peak demand
of 240,000 gallons.
A pilot study, conducted with SEH, Inc., in the winter of
2009-2010, showed that new wells and a new backwash tank
were needed and that a new plant would have to be built or
the existing one rehabilitated.
A test well located in an industrial-park area in the northeast section of Belgrade indicated a water source with no
arsenic but with higher levels of iron and manganese. The
city drilled two new wells, ranging in depth from 187 to 189
feet, in this area.
“They were lucky enough to find these wells that don’t have
arsenic,” said Jeff Ledin, a member of the SEH design team,
along with Chad Katzenberger and
John Thom. “Iron’s great. We can
treat that all day long. Arsenic—we
have to work at that.”
As part of the pilot study, the
design team, public-works officials,
and city council members toured
nearby plants in Richmond, Clara
City, and Kensington. In addition
to the treatment processes in those
plants, the group paid attention to
the building and facilities design.
“We learned to separate the office
and controls,” said Olson. “It’s not
as noisy.”
At the conclusion of the study, the city opted for a new
treatment plant adjacent to the wells in the industrial park
with a backwash tank outside the plant. A new plant
eliminated the need for a line from the previous site to the
new wells, and the 30,000-gallon backwash tank reclaims
about 80 percent of the water.
The new treatment plant has two pressure filters, each
with 12 inches of anthracite on top of 18 inches of silica sand.
Darren Braegelman, who operates the plant, said chlorine
and fluoride, along with a polyphosphate for corrosion
control, is added to the water after it passes through the
filters. Single-stage pumping from the wells gets the water
to residents.
The new plant went on line March 17, 2011. Its masonry
exterior fits with the surroundings of the industrial park. The
old plant was demolished and the wells sealed although the
100,000-gallon tower on the previous site remains.
The final cost of the project was $1,687,000 and financed
with a slight increase in water rates as well as through
a combined loan and grant package from the Minnesota
Department of Health Drinking Water Revolving Fund and
Public Facilities Authority in addition to a small city’s grant
from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development.
The new Belgrade water treatment plant is in an industrial park in the city’s northeast corner and has two pressure filters.
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REGISTRATION FORM FOR FALL 2013 SCHOOLS
You may combine fees on one check if more than one person is attending a school; however, please make a copy of this
form for each person. For questions regarding registration, contact Jeanette Boothe at 651-201-4697.
To request an exam application, contact Noel Hansen at 651-201-4690 or Mark Sloan at 651-201-4652.
Southwest School, October 9, Fairmont. Fee $30 ($35 after September 24).
Southeast School, October 18, Cabela’s, Owatonna. Fee $30 ($35 after October 8).
Northwest School, December 3-5, Hampton Inn, Bemidji. Fee: $130 ($140 after November 19).
Name
Employer
Address
City
Zip
Day Phone
E-mail Address
Please enclose the appropriate fee. Make check payable to Minnesota AWWA. Mail this form and fee to Drinking
Water Protection Section, Minnesota Department of Health, P. O. Box 64494, St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0494.
Reminder to All Water Operators
When submitting water samples for analyses, remember to do the following:
- Take coliform samples on the distribution system, not at the wells or entry points.
- Write the Date Collected, Time Collected, and Collector’s Name on the laboratory request form.
- Write the Sample Point on the laboratory request form.
- Attach the label to each bottle (do not attach labels to the lab form).
- Include laboratory request forms with submitted samples; make sure the information on the bottle label
and the lab form is the same.
- Use something other than a rollerball or gel pen; the ink may run.
- Consult your monitoring plan(s) prior to collecting required compliance samples.
Notify your Minnesota Department of Health district engineer of any e-mail changes for contact people.
If you have questions, call the Minnesota Department of Health contact on the back of all sample instruction forms.
Waterline
Published quarterly by the Drinking Water Protection Section, Minnesota Department of Health
Editor:
Stew Thornley
Staff:
Noel Hansen
Jeanette Boothe
Past issues of the Waterline are available at http://www.health.state.mn.us/water/newsletters.htm
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Steve Robertson Takes over as Head of
MDH Source Water Protection Unit
Grant Funding Used to Seal Unused
Public Water Supply Wells
Funding from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment was provided to the Minnesota Department of Health
to establish cost-share assistance to seal unused (not-in-use)
wells. Approximately $176,000 was awarded in 2011-2012
for sealing private wells through the Minnesota Board of
Water and Soil Resources. In 2013 MDH awarded nearly
$250,000 to public water suppliers to seal unused wells.
This funding requires a 50 percent match from non-state
sources and pays well owners up to half the cost of sealing
unused wells.
Awards went out to the following 19 public water suppliers
to seal a total of 29 unused wells by the end of 2013:
• Aspenwood Homes Owners Association in Tofte – 1 well
• City of Baxter – 2 wells
• Cascade Lodge in Lutsen – 1 well
Steve Robertson has been named the supervisor of the
Source Water Protection Unit at the Minnesota Department
of Health (MDH). He succeeds Bruce Olsen, who retired last
year, and Art Person, who served as interim supervisor before
retiring in April.
Steve grew up in Maryland, in the suburbs of Washington,
and spent time in Minnesota visiting family members (his mom
is from Wabasha). He earned degrees in geology from Carleton
College in Northfield, Minnesota, and the University of Texas.
After graduate school he returned to Minnesota and worked
at environmental consulting firms before coming to MDH in
1998 to work in wellhead protection.
He enjoys cross-country skiing, woodworking, and running.
Last spring Steve completed the Boston Marathon, finishing
shortly after the bombs exploded. He said he heard the
explosions but was out of the immediate area by the time they
occurred.
• City of Cook – 2 wells
• Norwood Shores East Home Owners Assn. in Lutsen – 1 well
• Beltrami County in the city of Solway – 1 well
• City of Balaton – 1 well
• City of Benson – 2 wells
• Brownton Water Supply – 1 well
• Lismore Colony in Clinton – 1 well
• City of Marshall – 1 well
• City of St. James – 2 wells
• Heritage Square Townhomes in Faribault – 2 wells
Words to Live By
Talk is cheap because supply exceeds
demand.
• City of Lewiston – 1 well
• Browerville Water System – 2 wells
• City of Royalton – 1 well
In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.
• City of Burnsville – 3 wells
• City of Eagan – 2 wells
Life is a teacher that keeps giving you
new problems before you’ve solved the
old ones.
• City of St. Louis Park – 2 wells
MDH was once again awarded $500,000 from the
Clean Water Fund for fiscal years (FY) 2014 and 2015.
MDH is planning to pass $250,000 to BWSR in FY 2014
to be awarded as part of their 2014 Clean Water Fund
Competitive Grants. These grants will be awarded to local
governmental units to provide funding for sealing unused
private wells.
The second $250,000 will be awarded by MDH to well
owners to seal unused public wells. These awards will be
made through competitive grants in FY 2015.
These competitive grants will be announced on the agencies’ websites as well as through newsletters and the MDH
GovDelivery system.
Nothing deflates a critic faster than to
accept the criticism as a friendly gesture
and to try to get some good out of it.
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re
going to do.
—Henry Ford (not Tim Brewster)
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Magnificent Minneapolis Manholes
A stroll through the sidewalks and streets along Nicollet Mall and down Sixth and Seventh streets in downtown Minneapolis
shows that the city intends more than function for its port utility (aka manhole) covers. Grills, glasses, lakes, longitude and
latitude coordinates, a mini-apple, and more are part of the covers, designed by different artists between 1983 and 1990. They
are still in use for the work of water and sewer crews and the intriguing appearance for residents and visitors.
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Presort Standard
US Postage
PAID
Permit No. 171
St. Paul, MN
Environmental Health Division
625 North Robert Street
P. O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
CALENDAR
Minnesota Section, American Water Works Association
September 10-13, Annual Conference, Duluth Entertain *October 18, Southeast Water Operators School, Cabela’s,
ment Convention Center. Contact Brian LeMon, 952-832Owatonna, Contact Bob Dunn 507-457-8272.
2774.
*October 23, Central Water Operators School, St. John’s
*October 9, Southwest Water Operators School, Fairmont,
University, Collegeville. Contact Bill Schluenz, 320-252Contact Jeff Larson, 507-537-7005.
6822.
*December 3-5, Northwest Water Operators School,
Hampton Inn, Bemidji. Contact Kris Knutson, 218-299-5470.
Information for all district schools, including agendas:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/water/wateroperator/trng/
schoolagendas.html
Minnesota Rural Water Association (MRWA)
Contact Kyle Kedrowski, 800-367-6792
*September 25, Operation & Maintenance, Zumbrota
*October 15-17, Certification Exam
Refresher, St. Cloud
*November 20, Operation & Maintenance, Clarks Grove
*December 11, Operation & Maintenance, Biwabik
The workshops listed above include a certification
exam. Other training dates are available at http://
mrwa.com/trainingcalendar.htm.
*Includes a water certification exam.
MRWA Class D Training
September 10, Elbow Lake
September 24, Maple Grove
October 3, Detroit Lakes
MRWA Class E Training
October 9, Two Harbors
November 26, Stanton
December 12, Cologne
For an up-to-date list of events, see the training calendar on the MDH web site:
http://health.state.mn.us/water/wateroperator/trng/wat_op_sched.html
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