Within Whitewater River Watershed, groundwater is the primary drinking water source for both private and community wells. These drinking water aquifers often lack adequate protective layers making them vulnerable to contamination. Unused wells can deteriorate and pose a serious risk to groundwater quality by providing a pathway for contaminants from the surface to easily travel into groundwater. This project will use cost-share funds to incentivize sealing twelve abandoned wells that are contamination risks to vulnerable aquifers.
Protecting groundwater aquifers that supply community drinking water supplies is critical for communities in Winona County. Well #219210 located within the Altura Drinking Water Supply Management Area (DWSMA) is an unused, multi-aquifer municipal well that poses a risk to the community drinking water supply. This well intersects with multiple aquifers, including the Prairie Du Chien, Jordan, Tunnel City/Lone Rock, and Wonewoc. These are primary aquifers used by the majority of drinking water wells in the region.
This project would educate residents and provide assistance to the City of Le Center in sealing an unused/abandoned municipal well. One municipal well has been identified as a high risk due to impacting the groundwater and drinking water supply to the City of Le Center.
In Dakota County, groundwater supplies more than 90 percent of the drinking water. In order to protect Dakota County's primary drinking water source, this project proposes to support the County well seal grant cost-share program. The project will provide 50 percent cost-share funding to reimburse landowners for the sealing of unused wells. The goal is to permanently seal between 80-100 unused/abandoned wells throughout the county.
Prevention of groundwater contamination from unused, unsealed wells is identified as a priority in the 2020-2030 Dakota County Groundwater Plan. Dakota County plans to prevent groundwater contamination, especially in drinking water supply management areas, by completing a well inventory in the Black Dog Watershed area to identify suspected abandoned wells, and provide 50% cost-share grants to seal approximately 13 unused, unsealed wells in the watershed.
This project will educate the local residents of the importance of groundwater protection and provide financial assistance to those who need to properly abandon their unused well. This project will also support the upgrade of nonconforming sewage treatment systems to reduce nutrient contributions to groundwater and surface water through groundwater permeation.
Seal abandoned, 14 unused public wells; Update GIS well database; Educate students; Water festival; Educate storage tank owners; Develop "Groundwater News" newsletter
The Carver County Planning and Water Management Department (PWM) has an active well sealing cost share program. Following the adoption of the updated County Groundwater Plan in February of 2016, the Carver County Board of Commissioners moved to accelerate the program to encourage landowners to seal abandoned wells. Carver County is looking to supplement existing funds, as demand is expected to increase. With this additional funding, it is the goal of Carver County PWM to seal an additional 15 wells county wide.
The Yellow Medicine One Watershed One Plan has identified Protecting and Preserving Groundwater Quality and Quantity as one of the three priorities addressed in the Plan. Seven priority sub-watersheds have been identified as priority areas, as well as two townships that have been identified by the Department of Agriculture to have vulnerable groundwater areas. Our goal is to provide 50% cost share to seal 34 abandoned wells that are located in these priority areas.
Ramsey County, the most densely populated county in Minnesota, generates high levels of contaminated runoff from its impervious surfaces, which can have damaging effects on both surface water and groundwater. Concerns arise when these contaminants drain into abandoned and unused wells, threatening the quality of groundwater, especially in drinking water supply areas, wellhead protection areas, or groundwater recharge zones.
Crow Wing County, in cooperation with the municipalities within the County, plans to continue its successful well sealing program that pays 50% of the cost to seal unused/abandoned wells up to a maximum of $1000 per well. The amount of funding requested is $31,000 which is estimated to allow for the sealing of 80-100 wells. From 2012 to 2015, Crow Wing County sealed 65 wells as part of an earlier MDH well sealing grant from the Clean Water Fund. Priority will be given to wells located in or near existing wellhead protection areas.
In the early 1900s, a joint State and County drainage project constructed a 1 mile outlet channel to Grand Marais Creek to provide a shorter outlet to the Red River and effectively abandoned the lower 6 miles of the natural channel. In recent times, the ditch has eroded from its original shape to a channel of steep gradients and unstable banks. This has resulted in head cutting of the channel and nearly continuous channel erosion and bank sloughing with the effect of depositing up to an estimated annual average of 700 tons of sediment into the Red River.
