Well, Now What?

Future Water Decision

For many years, the JWC has purchased treated surface water from the City of Minneapolis. During the 1980s and through the mid-1990s, the JWC and its member cities enjoyed purchasing water at a very low cost. Beginning in 1997, however, the JWC witnessed annual cost increases from Minneapolis. Due to these significant and continuing cost increases, the JWC is considering drilling its own wells and building its own water treatment facility to provide softened, treated ground water to its utility customers.

Minneapolis continues to provide excellent water; however, its aging water treatment facilities in Columbia Heights and Fridley need to be updated to meet water quality standards. As a result, Minneapolis will begin to bring new, state-of-the-art ultrafiltration treatment facilities online in 2004 and hopes to complete construction of its new facilities by 2007. The new facilities will provide even better protection against microbial contaminants commonly found in surface water sources. The upgrade will include ultra-filtration technology that involves pushing low-pressure water through a fine membrane with extrememly small openings. The total cost of these water treatment facility improvements is estimated to be $140 million.

	Meetings Current Planning and Governance Task Force Open Houses Press Releases Reports and Technical Information Tri-City Council Meeting Presentation (6-4-04) -  175k JWC Water Fair Taste Test Results

The JWC is committed to providing its customers with safe, high-quality water at the best possible price. To make certain that it was considering all of its options, the JWC conducted an initial Alternate Water Supply Study in 1997. The study recommended that the JWC should consider "going it alone" if Minneapolis rates increased significantly. In January 2002, the JWC authorized a preliminary Water System Feasibility Study which indicated that an independent water system would be both technically and economically feasible.

In February 2003, City Councils from the Joint Water Commission (JWC) Cities of Crystal, Golden Valley, and New Hope approved additional in-depth technical and financial evaluations to determine whether it is feasible for the JWC to supply and treat its own water. These evaluations, which were completed last fall, confirmed the best way to treat groundwater to an equal or better water quality, evaluated the Prairie du Chien aquifer as a viable alternate source, evaluated how such a new system might best be governed, and assessed the financial feasibility of a new water system. These evaluations provided the information needed by the cities to make an informed decision on a future water source.

The JWC and the member cities are now poised to make a final decision on a future water supply .

If the JWC decides to construct its own water system, that system would:

• provide softened, treated water with equal or better taste and quality than the current water supply. (No home water softeners would be required.)
• pump water out of the Prairie du Chien aquifer through a new system of wells.
• treat the water at a centrally located water treatment facility. This facility would remove excess iron and manganese from the water, reduce the hardness, and disinfect the water before to distribution to customers. The finished water would not stain fixtures or clothing and would not require installation of home water softeners.
• incorporate existing JWC infrastructure including reservoirs in Crystal and Golden Valley, water towers in Golden Valley and New Hope, and water distribution systems.

Watch for additional information about the decision to select a future water source in the local newspaper, on cable television, in upcoming issues of your city newsletter, and on this website.

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