Water management issues

We appreciate the efforts of our elected officials and municipalities to find practical solutions that are keeping drinking water safe in our communities. Today we took a deep dive into water challenges with the Mayors of Lake Elmo and Woodbury focusing on contamination of chemicals in the water.

PFAS seeped into the ground water over the decades from 4 disposal sites of manufacturing waste in the east metro area. PFAS is a chemical used in many, many products including scotch guard, clothing and cookware.

In 2018, at the beginning of the search for a solution, many options were considered including pulling surface water from the Mississippi River to treat it as drinking water, but it would have been an extremely costly option. Cities chose instead to use temporary treatment plants for wells in Woodbury and Lake Elmo while plans for more permanent treatment proceeded.

The Attorney General sued 3M which resulted in a $850M settlement in 2018. After attorneys’ fees, $720 M remained for the numerous cities impacted. As it turns out the allotments will cover the capital cost of building treatment plants but not the operating cost.

3M has done research finding it in the blood of employees. Several YouTube videos of investigations by WCCO report the most recent information. Just google WCCO and PFAS.

We learned a lot. For instance, PFAS chemicals are no longer being sold to food manufacturers. It was previously used in some packaging like microwave popcorn packages.

Mayor Anne Burt, Woodbury, MN      Mayor Charles Cadenhead, Lake Elmo, MN