ERMUSR MISC 11-13-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REQUEST FOR ACTION ver To Item Number Ci Council Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by November 13, 2007 B an Adams Elk River Utilities Item Description Reviewed by Black Dirt Ordinance Reviewed by Action Requested Elk River Municipal Utilities recommends City Councils direct staff to develop a black dirt ordinance to foster water conservation that contains the following principals. 1) 4 inches of black dirt shall be tilled into the top approximate 8" of existing soil. 2) 4 inches of black dirt shall have the approximate following make-up by volume Sand - 61% Clay - 12% Silt - 12% Organic - 15% 3) Areas that naturally contain this approximate soil make-up shall be classified as meeting the black dirt policy. 4) Inspection as part of the certificate of occupancy process by building inspections. Background/Discussion As Elk River continues to grow, so does the demand for water. The attached Chart #1 reflects Elk River's past and future growth trends on a daily and annual basis. Our past annual growth trend has been in the 7% range or a new water production facility every 3 years. We currently have 7 water production facilities with the 8th under construction in Twin Lakes Estates. All of our facilities utilize the Mt Simon Hinkley aquifer. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently increased our ground water appropriation to 1.6 billion gallons per year and 5 additional wells. This increase should satisfy our growth needs for the next 10 years. This increase in water appropriations is also contingent on continuing our water conservation efforts which is the subject of this memo. Chart #2 reflects the maximum daily and monthly water pumpage for years 2006 and 2007. Elk River's domestic water need is in the 38 million gallons per month range or 1.26 million gallons per day. This is approxunately what the waste water plant processes daily. In the non winter months, water demand drastically increases to 160 million gallons per month or 7 million gallons per day. This increase is due to lawn irrigation. On an annual basis, lawn irrigation accounts for approximately 45% of our water use. Is this a good use of a limited resource? The attached two articles from the September 16, 2007 Star Tribune titled "Battling Tainted Water" and "The Pollution That Lies Beneath" very accurately explains the water situation in the metro area. Elk River uses the Mt. Simon Hinkley aquifer as a sole source water supply. As other metro communities seek a better water supply, the Mt. Simon Hinkley aquifer will receive more withdraws in the future and \\Win2003_sever\h\GM Documents\Black Dirt Action Requested.doc