In Anoka County, 330,000 residents (94%) depend on groundwater for drinking water, using about 12 billion gallons annually. Wells (residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial) that are unused and unsealed pose a significant health and safety hazard by creating a direct conduit to introduce contaminants (e.g. pesticides, nutrients, pathogens) into groundwater supplies. The highly permeable sands of the Anoka Sand Plain are likely a significant source of groundwater recharge for several of the major aquifers that supply water needs throughout the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Visit the Minnesota Department of Health webpage for more information on well sealing in MN. 

Anoka County was one of the few counties in Minnesota that lacked a program to assist landowners with paying to seal unused wells. In response, ACD established a well sealing cost-share program, using a FY20 Clean Water Fund (CWF) grant. As awareness of the program grew, demand increased, highlighting the need for such financial assistance. Since 2020, ACD's well sealing program has made significant progress. ACD staff has worked with hundreds of landowners, promoting and educating on well sealing, resulting in the sealing of 67 high-priority unused wells.

The Mount Simon-Hinckley aquifer is one of the deepest and oldest aquifers in the state. It runs from Hinckley, MN to a large swath of south central Minnesota. The aquifer reaches depths of over 1,000 feet in some areas, containing water that is 30,000 years old. Industrial pumping of the aquifer has been banned in the seven county metro area for more than 30 years, and household use is only allowed when there is no other reasonable water alternative. Even with current restrictions, demand on the aquifer is likely to increase in the future due to projected climate conditions.

Many people think of aquifers as large underground lakes, but really an aquifer is more like sand soaked water where water trickles down through the porous space. This trickle of water may be extremely slow and it may take years for water to reach the aquifer. This leads to issues when aquifers are over-pumped and this slower recharge rate is not taken into account. There are already known areas in the Mount Simon Aquifer that are dry, caused by excessive pumping.

The Mount Simon Hinckley aquifer is an especially complicated system because of the diversity of the landscape it covers. These different landscapes have unique water flow as well as varying rock types which influence the water's ability to percolate down. Water within the same aquifer may differ in age by a thousand years depending on when the water reached the aquifer. Age of the water can be an indicator of water supply.

Learn more about how groundwater systems work by watching ACD's "Our Groundwater Connection" informational video.

The second in a series of videos about groundwater was published on March 3rd, 2020. "Our Groundwater Connection: Contamination" is a follow-up to the original "Our Groundwater Connection" video published on June 11^th, 2019. The video builds on the information viewers learned from the first video, focusing on how groundwater becomes contaminated and what we can do to prevent contamination. The video explains different sources of pollution, how pollutants travel and build up over time, and what happens when wells become contaminated. The video concludes with the message that "everyone has the responsibility to stop contamination from getting into our groundwater. When we work together to prevent pollution, we can ensure clean drinking water now, and for many generations to come."

The project was made possible because members of the Water Resource Outreach Collaborative pooled their resources to create a high quality product with minimal financial stress on any one organization. Partners from Washington County Public Health and Environment and the Minnesota Department of Health also provided input and support for the project.

On March 3rd, the video was debuted at the MN Rural Water Association Annual Technical Conference during a mini-session presentation by ACD's Outreach and Engagement Coordinator.

Watch on the video on YouTube by searching "Our Groundwater Connection: Contamination," or by clicking here: https://youtu.be/gRSHJpe8pq8