Protecting Vulnerable Drinking Water Sources in Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Health
Our source water goal
Minnesota Department of Health has set a goal to protect all vulnerable drinking water sources by 2034. Protecting sources of drinking water ensures that drinking water remains safe for all Minnesotans, including future generations. Source water protection can take many forms, depending on the local setting, and achieving this goal will require collaboration from many partners.
Designating source water areas and identifying threats
Three out of four Minnesotans get their drinking water from groundwater. While groundwater is pumped from deep underground, it can be contaminated by features or activities on the land surface such as failing septic systems, excess fertilizer use, or leaking tanks.
In some areas of Minnesota, groundwater is more vulnerable to contamination because of the local setting or geology. In these vulnerable areas, contaminants can migrate more easily and quickly from the land surface to the drinking water source.
The Source Water Protection Program at Minnesota Department of Health works with public water systems to protect drinking water sources and prevent drinking water contamination. The program works with systems to designate protection areas for their drinking water sources, called Drinking Water Supply Management Areas, or DWSMAs. Together, they make a plan that identifies threats and outlines activities to manage those threats.
Currently, there are around 400,000 acres in DWSMAs that are vulnerable to contamination.
View vulnerable groundwater DWSMAs and other source water areas in the interactive Source Water Protection Web Map Viewer linked below. Visit Reports and Geospatial Data to download the spatial data.
Managing contamination within the DWSMA is challenging, since much of the land is privately owned
Minnesota Department of Health and public water systems have limited ability to protect land within DWSMAs. About 45% of the land within DWSMAs is privately owned and outside of municipal jurisdiction.
Because much of the land is largely privately owned, activities to protect drinking water sources are voluntary and achieved through collaborative, local efforts. Source water protection relies on partners to support land uses that preserve and improve drinking water quality.
Source water toolbox
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to source water protection. Minnesota has diverse geology, settings, and economic activities, and multiple tools are needed to protect drinking water.
Local geology and land use drive source water protection needs
Minnesota's six groundwater provinces, based on geology and drinking water characteristics
Drinking water sources vary across Minnesota because of the state's diverse geology. Minnesota can be divided into several groundwater provinces based on regional geology and drinking water characteristics.
Looking at the groundwater and land use characteristics of a region can tell us a lot about its source water protection needs. The northern and north-central provinces have extensive forestry, which is beneficial to source water quality but can be threatened by development. In the western and southern provinces, there is significant agricultural activity, and excess fertilizer application can be a drinking water concern. The Twin Cities Metropolitan Area has extensive urban development and impervious surface, which can cause water quality issues from stormwater. Visit NLCD 2019 Land Cover to download the data used in the following table.
Distribution of land use across Minnesota groundwater provinces
Source water protection employs a toolbox for different settings and drinking water threats
In some communities, source water protection may involve land use controls, conservation practices, or easements, while in others, protection may be achieved by managing point sources of contamination or reducing their risks. A variety of tools in the source water protection toolbox are needed to meet drinking water challenges with local solutions.
Proactive tools that can provide long-term protection for drinking water include zoning ordinances, easements, and land acquisition. These tools can put protections in place to prevent contamination from certain land uses or activities.
Other voluntary tools are available to protect drinking water sources, even if they are not as permanent. These voluntary tools allow current land uses and activities to continue while mitigating water quality impacts.
Local solutions
Activities to protect drinking water are diverse and varied across Minnesota
The interactive map below highlights local actions that protect drinking water sources in communities across the state, including: northern Minnesota, Perham, Bovey, Calumet, Keewatin, Anoka County, Edgerton, Pipestone, Rock County, Red Rock Rural Water, and Chatfield.
Planting native species in a stormwater basin
Planting native species in a stormwater basin. Click to expand.
The city of Perham has experienced elevated nitrates in its southern wellfield. The city appiled for and received a SWP Grant to install native plantings in a stormwater basin near the city wells. The stormwater basin is located on the Perham High School property and captures runoff from the parking lot. The stormwater basin helps reduce nitrates as well as heavy metals and contaminants from the runoff. Volunteers from the community planted over 3,000 forbs in the basin, and the city installed educational signs about the project's benefits to drinking water and the environment.
Achieving multiple benefits for forestry and drinking water
Achieving multiple benefits for forestry and drinking water. Click to expand.
Identifying overlapping priority areas for forestry and drinking water can create opportunities that benefit both resources. State agencies worked together to integrate Source Water Assessment Areas into the revised 2021 State Forest Action Plan, which helps establish priority for activities in surface water DWSMAs and forestlands in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The State Forestry Plan also guides priorities for local planning through One Watershed, One Plan. Identifying these shared priority areas creates funding opportunities to establish or increase forestry in priority surface water DWSMAs through the Farm Bill and One Watershed, One Plan.
Removing leaking gas tanks
Removing leaking gas tanks . Click to expand.
The cities of Bovey, Calumet, and Keewatin each had abandoned gas stations in their DWSMAs. The communities became aware that each site had multiple underground storage tanks that were leaking and threatening their drinking water quality. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency conducted monitoring and site assessments for contamination and closed the projects, but the tanks remained underground. MDH identified the tanks as potential sources of contamination in the cities' Wellhead Protection Plans and recommended they apply for Source Water Protection Grants to remove the tanks. The communities partnered with a consulting company and Itasca County on the project and grants. Once the tanks were successfully removed, the sites were tested to ensure they were safe. Itasca County transferred ownership of the parcels to the cities so they could ensure that future land use on the sites would continue to benefit source water quality. Bovey and Calumet were recognized for their efforts as finalists for the MDH Source Water Protection Awards.
Multi-community well sealing efforts
Multi-community well sealing efforts. Click to expand.
Many suburban communities in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area have a number of unused, unsealed private wells in households that were later connected to municipal water. Unsealed wells pose threats to groundwater quality because they can be pathways for contaminants to reach aquifers. In 2015, several communities in the Anoka County Municipal Wellhead Protection Group partnered on a project that provided a cost-share for property owners to seal private wells. This project was funded through Source Water Protection Grants, made possible by Clean Water Fund. The communities undertook an outreach campaign to increase awareness about the well sealing program and the importance of sealing unused wells. The project provided a 50% match up to $500 and met a health equity need, as many of the potential participants were long-time homeowners who had retired and were on limited incomes. As a result of the project, 23 property owners were able to seal their unused wells and eliminate those potential pathways for aquifer contamination.
Perennial land cover to proactively protect the aquifer
Perennial land cover to proactively protect the aquifer. Click to expand.
The city of Chatfield draws water from the Jordan aquifer, which supplies drinking water to much of southeastern Minnesota. Chatfield's drinking water source is highly vulnerable to contamination and is affected by nitrate leaching from row crop agriculture within the DWSMA. Nitrate levels in Chatfield's drinking water are below the drinking water standard but have been continuously increasing. After attending a local conference and seeing a presentation on Kernza, the city partnered with Minnesota Rural Water Association, Forever Green, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on a project to plant Kernza on several acres of city- and privately-owned lands in the DWSMA. The project was funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The project also monitored nitrate levels in the Kernza fields, which showed that Kernza was effective in preventing nitrate leaching to groundwater. The project led to additional cropping practices in Chatfield's DWSMA, and part of the DWSMA is now planted in winter camelina, a harvestable cover crop, in relay with soybeans. The city of Chatfield has been proactive, collaborative, and driven in implementing its Wellhead Protection Plan and pursuing innovative solutions for source water protection.
Restoring and protecting lands in the DWSMA
Restoring and protecting lands in the DWSMA. Click to expand.
Red Rock Rural Water identified that an old gravel pit in the DWSMA that threatened source water quality. The property was being used as a local dump and had lumber, garbage, metal, storage containers, vehicles, and other debris that could affect the source water quality for Red Rock Rural Water and the city of Jeffers. Funding from a Source Water Protection Grant made it possible to remove the garbage from the property. The area was restored and placed into wellhead protection through a ReInvest in Minnesota easement, which voluntarily retires land that benefits soil and water.
Establishing perennial crops in Rock County
Establishing perennial crops in Rock County. Click to expand.
Rock County Rural Water serves 3,000 people in southwest Minnesota. Unlike much of the state, southwest Minnesota does not have abundant water. Rock County Rural Water has received several SWP Grants to provide incentives for perennial crops. Through SWP Grants, Rock County Rural Water has implemented nitrate best management practices on 1,700 acres. Using grant funds, Rock County Rural Water has also implemented a program to provide incentives for nitrogen best management practices such as extra side dressing and inhibitors. They provided higher incentives for practices on fields nearest the wells with the highest water quality benefit. Rock County Rural Water and Doug Bos have been recognized with Source Water Protection Awards at the state and national level.
Planting rye in Edgerton
Planting rye in Edgerton. Click to expand.
Nitrate has been an issue in Edgerton since the 1980s. In the late 1990s, the city installed water treatment and started working on source water protection, which was critical because the community only has one available source of drinking water. Edgerton used several Source Water Protection Grant awards to provide incentives for 26 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program near the wellfield. The city has used grant funds to rent 128 acres and help pay for the cost of tillage and seedling of rye and Kernza plantings. Perennial crops like Kernza and rye can help uptake excess nitrate in the soil and prevent it from leaching into drinking water sources. Additionally, the grants have supported seed purchases and the harvest and combining of the crops.
Managing nitrate with Kernza
Managing nitrate with Kernza. Click to expand.
In this video, staff from Pipestone County Soil & Watershed District and the city of Edgerton share advice on starting conversations with landowners and producers. They discuss a project that planted Kernza in the Edgerton DWSMA to manage nitrate levels in source water.
Planting native species in a stormwater basin
The city of Perham has experienced elevated nitrates in its southern wellfield. The city appiled for and received a SWP Grant to install native plantings in a stormwater basin near the city wells. The stormwater basin is located on the Perham High School property and captures runoff from the parking lot. The stormwater basin helps reduce nitrates as well as heavy metals and contaminants from the runoff. Volunteers from the community planted over 3,000 forbs in the basin, and the city installed educational signs about the project's benefits to drinking water and the environment.
Achieving multiple benefits for forestry and drinking water
Identifying overlapping priority areas for forestry and drinking water can create opportunities that benefit both resources. State agencies worked together to integrate Source Water Assessment Areas into the revised 2021 State Forest Action Plan, which helps establish priority for activities in surface water DWSMAs and forestlands in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The State Forestry Plan also guides priorities for local planning through One Watershed, One Plan. Identifying these shared priority areas creates funding opportunities to establish or increase forestry in priority surface water DWSMAs through the Farm Bill and One Watershed, One Plan.
Removing leaking gas tanks
The cities of Bovey, Calumet, and Keewatin each had abandoned gas stations in their DWSMAs. The communities became aware that each site had multiple underground storage tanks that were leaking and threatening their drinking water quality. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency conducted monitoring and site assessments for contamination and closed the projects, but the tanks remained underground. MDH identified the tanks as potential sources of contamination in the cities' Wellhead Protection Plans and recommended they apply for Source Water Protection Grants to remove the tanks. The communities partnered with a consulting company and Itasca County on the project and grants. Once the tanks were successfully removed, the sites were tested to ensure they were safe. Itasca County transferred ownership of the parcels to the cities so they could ensure that future land use on the sites would continue to benefit source water quality. Bovey and Calumet were recognized for their efforts as finalists for the MDH Source Water Protection Awards.
Multi-community well sealing efforts
Many suburban communities in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area have a number of unused, unsealed private wells in households that were later connected to municipal water. Unsealed wells pose threats to groundwater quality because they can be pathways for contaminants to reach aquifers. In 2015, several communities in the Anoka County Municipal Wellhead Protection Group partnered on a project that provided a cost-share for property owners to seal private wells. This project was funded through Source Water Protection Grants, made possible by Clean Water Fund. The communities undertook an outreach campaign to increase awareness about the well sealing program and the importance of sealing unused wells. The project provided a 50% match up to $500 and met a health equity need, as many of the potential participants were long-time homeowners who had retired and were on limited incomes. As a result of the project, 23 property owners were able to seal their unused wells and eliminate those potential pathways for aquifer contamination.
Perennial land cover to proactively protect the aquifer
The city of Chatfield draws water from the Jordan aquifer, which supplies drinking water to much of southeastern Minnesota. Chatfield's drinking water source is highly vulnerable to contamination and is affected by nitrate leaching from row crop agriculture within the DWSMA. Nitrate levels in Chatfield's drinking water are below the drinking water standard but have been continuously increasing. After attending a local conference and seeing a presentation on Kernza, the city partnered with Minnesota Rural Water Association, Forever Green, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on a project to plant Kernza on several acres of city- and privately-owned lands in the DWSMA. The project was funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The project also monitored nitrate levels in the Kernza fields, which showed that Kernza was effective in preventing nitrate leaching to groundwater. The project led to additional cropping practices in Chatfield's DWSMA, and part of the DWSMA is now planted in winter camelina, a harvestable cover crop, in relay with soybeans. The city of Chatfield has been proactive, collaborative, and driven in implementing its Wellhead Protection Plan and pursuing innovative solutions for source water protection.
Restoring and protecting lands in the DWSMA
Red Rock Rural Water identified that an old gravel pit in the DWSMA that threatened source water quality. The property was being used as a local dump and had lumber, garbage, metal, storage containers, vehicles, and other debris that could affect the source water quality for Red Rock Rural Water and the city of Jeffers. Funding from a Source Water Protection Grant made it possible to remove the garbage from the property. The area was restored and placed into wellhead protection through a ReInvest in Minnesota easement, which voluntarily retires land that benefits soil and water.
Establishing perennial crops in Rock County
Rock County Rural Water serves 3,000 people in southwest Minnesota. Unlike much of the state, southwest Minnesota does not have abundant water. Rock County Rural Water has received several SWP Grants to provide incentives for perennial crops. Through SWP Grants, Rock County Rural Water has implemented nitrate best management practices on 1,700 acres. Using grant funds, Rock County Rural Water has also implemented a program to provide incentives for nitrogen best management practices such as extra side dressing and inhibitors. They provided higher incentives for practices on fields nearest the wells with the highest water quality benefit. Rock County Rural Water and Doug Bos have been recognized with Source Water Protection Awards at the state and national level.
Planting rye in Edgerton
Nitrate has been an issue in Edgerton since the 1980s. In the late 1990s, the city installed water treatment and started working on source water protection, which was critical because the community only has one available source of drinking water. Edgerton used several Source Water Protection Grant awards to provide incentives for 26 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program near the wellfield. The city has used grant funds to rent 128 acres and help pay for the cost of tillage and seedling of rye and Kernza plantings. Perennial crops like Kernza and rye can help uptake excess nitrate in the soil and prevent it from leaching into drinking water sources. Additionally, the grants have supported seed purchases and the harvest and combining of the crops.
Managing nitrate with Kernza
In this video, staff from Pipestone County Soil & Watershed District and the city of Edgerton share advice on starting conversations with landowners and producers. They discuss a project that planted Kernza in the Edgerton DWSMA to manage nitrate levels in source water.
Source water partnerships
We cannot do it on our own
Minnesota Department of Health relies on its partners to support land use changes that preserve and improve drinking water quality. Coordination between partners at the local and state level can help target funding and activities in vulnerable DWSMAs.
Applying existing program tools in vulnerable areas achieves multiple benefits and protects public health
There are many different state, regional, and local programs that provide guidance and opportunities for local activities that protect groundwater. For instance, the Board of Soil and Water Resources has a report on Groundwater / Drinking Water Protection Practices for Agricultural Lands (PDF) that provides guidance on identifying the most effective practices in agricultural areas. Through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program , Minnesota Department of Agriculture recognizes voluntary conservation practices by agricultural landowners that protect water quality.
Our shared progress
A key goal of this initiative is that local planners, decision-makers, and landowners are engaged in collaborative discussions to create a united vision for source water protection in their communities. The greatest successes in source water protection in Minnesota have occurred in communities with grassroots efforts to protect their drinking water. They have been spurred by local action and collaboration.
The Source Water Protection framework
The Source Water Protection framework recognizes four progressive levels of protection that align with planning phases. Most public water systems progress through these levels sequentially.
Source Water Protection Framework for public water systems
The Source Water Protection Program at Minnesota Department of Health supports public water systems throughout this process, starting with delineating the DWSMA and preparing a source water protection plan in Levels 1-2.
Implementation of plan strategies is voluntary, and local engagement in source water protection varies across communities. While implementing plan strategies in Level 3 typically provides short-term protection of drinking water sources, activities can be interrupted by changes in land ownership, management, or financial situations. The vulnerable acres initiative has a goal of advancing public water systems towards Level 4 measures that provide more permanent and long-term protection for the source.
Minnesota Department of Health is gathering data from its partners to evaluate the number of vulnerable DWSMA acres enrolled in protective practices or programs. These data will be used to monitor progress on this initiative in the Clean Water Fund Performance Report.
