5.2. ERMUSR 02-12-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1.3 Other Relevant Studies and Initiatives Water supply and water sustainability issues are being evaluated with increasing urgency in Minnesota and the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Minnesota are evaluating water sustainability on a regional and state-wide basis from the perspective of groundwater recharge (groundwater recharge is the primary limiting factor for the amount of available water). Biofuels (primarily ethanol) production, which requires substantial amounts of water, is a significant driver for these efforts. These efforts are expected to continue for the foreseeable future because the quantification of groundwater recharge is very difficult. The Metropolitan Council has organized the informal Northwest Metro Groundwater working group to address water-supply issues in northwestern Hennepin County and portions of Anoka County. This area has had challenges in obtaining water supply for future growth (based on projections) because many of the bedrock aquifers that are available to other communities in the metro area are not present here. The Metropolitan Council has, over the past three to five years, initiated several studies to better characterize the groundwater conditions in this area -many of which have been executed by the Minnesota Geological Survey. More recently, the Metropolitan Council has been assisting the City of Ramsey in identifying possible water-supply alternatives, with emphasis on a surface-water source and treatment plant. The economics of developing asurface-water source would likely require the participation of nearby communities. The most recent (and most comprehensive) water-supply initiative is a regional water-supply alternative analyses that is being performed by the Metropolitan Council, with participation from state regulatory agencies. This study began in 2006 with a regional analysis of the seven-county metro area's water-supply infrastructure (piping, wells, treatment plants, etc.). The second part of this study commenced in 2007 and involves (1) the construction of a regional, multi-aquifer groundwater flow model and (2) use of this model to aid in evaluating water-supply alternatives for selected locations in the seven county metro area. This study is slated to be completed in the second quarter of 2008 and being performed by Barr Engineering Company. 1.4 Regional Water Demand and Use According to the Metropolitan Council (2005) regional water demand in 2003 for the seven-county metro area totaled over 1.3 billion gallons per day (BGD). About 65 percent of the demand was for power generation (from surface water) and this water was returned to the region's three major rivers in almost the same volume as was withdrawn. The remaining 35 percent was withdrawn by municipalities (waterworks) for domestic, commercial and industrial uses; self-supplied P:\Mpls\23 MN\71\2371105 Water Supply Alternative Study\FinalDeliverables\Alternatives_Report_final.doc 2