The 2026 budget request to Anoka County includes adding a Groundwater Specialist to ACD's staff. This is the third consecutive year that this need has emerged as a top priority. Anoka County has never had a professional dedicated solely to managing our groundwater. Given our situation, it's time to shift our priorities. What situation?  

  • 94% of us in Anoka County rely on groundwater for drinking and other needs
  • We have more private wells than any other county in MN (53,000)
  • We have more Superfunds sites than any other county in MN (9)
  • We sit on the Anoka Sandplain, making our drinking water highly vulnerable to contamination
  • Our shallow groundwater recharges aquifers relied on throughout the Metro Area. 

This combination of factors can come together in troubling ways.

  • Drinking water contamination in Andover neighborhoods near closed landfills.
  • 47 private wells in Blaine and Ham Lake went dry due to interference from municipal well pumping in the City of Blaine. Three Blaine wells had to be shut down.
  • "Forever chemicals" (PFAs) are showing up in groundwater across Minnesota, especially in Anoka County. Potential health ramifications are unknown.
  • Drought diminished shallow groundwater, resulting in record-low lake and river levels.
  • Multiple train derailments across the country exposed the vulnerability of drinking water to contamination by spills. Anoka County must be prepared to respond quickly to spills.

If only we had a Groundwater Specialist at ACD, we could:

  • Develop a groundwater management plan and secure state approval,
  • Secure $150K-$350K/year in state funds available to those with approved groundwater plans,
  • Use advanced technology for high-resolution groundwater modeling,
  • Analyze neglected datasets for hotspots and trends in groundwater degradation,
  • Engage MPCA, MNDNR, and MDH to enhance the service Anoka County constituents receive,
  • Coordinate regional planning, wellhead protection, and contamination response,
  • Implement sentinel well monitoring,
  • Manage cost-share programs for projects like septic upgrades, well sealing, and agricultural irrigation technology upgrades,
  • Inform civic leaders, public employees and the public at large on groundwater, and
  • Serve as the trusted expert on groundwater issues.

If groundwater is a mystery to you, please watch the short videos linked below, which were made locally and are often referenced nationally. 

Groundwater - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxENTkMmyEE

Groundwater Contamination - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSHJpe8pq8&t=12s