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The trend of groundwater use in the Elk River area is increasing. Increasing groundwater use is likely <br />due to increased population served by municipal utilities and increased gravel mining activities. <br />The majority of appropriated groundwater in the Elk River area is from the Mt. Simon-Hinckley <br />Aquifer, as shown on Figure 17. Use of this aquifer has been increasing since 1988, whereas usage <br />from the Franconia-Ironton-Galesville Aquifer and the unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifer has <br />remained relatively steady (or, in the case of pumping from the unconsolidated aquifer, increasing <br />slightly over the past 4 years). <br />In the vicinity of Elk River, the Minnesota Geological Survey's County Well Index reports <br />approximately 1,800 dometic wells. About 55 percent of these wells are completed in the <br />unconsolidated Quaternary aqufier (Figure 18). Some domestic wells are completed in the Eau Claire <br />Formation, which is tyically considered an aquitard but in some locations where it is the uppermost <br />bedrock, it is sufficiently weathered to produce domestic quantities of water. If each of the 1,800 <br />domestic wells pumps at an average rate of 300 gallons per day, the total annual groundwater <br />withdrawal from the domestic wells is about 200 million gallons. <br />P:\Mpls\23 MN\71\2371105 Water Supply Alternative Study\FinalDeliverables\Alternatives_Report_f"inal.doc 24 <br />