Groundwater in Minnesota

Groundwater provides drinking water to more than two-thirds of Minnesota households. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency monitors the quality of our groundwater and protects it from contamination.

Report on chemicals in groundwater

The MPCA's recent report provides significant information about groundwater in Minnesota. Baseline testing of 40 wells was done to find out what chemicals of emerging concern are currently in our groundwater and how they might be harmful. Chemicals of emerging concern are not commonly monitored and include pharmaceuticals and personal care products. This information is passed on to the Department of Health so it can establish health guidelines.

Endocrine Active Chemicals and Other Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Minnesota’s Groundwater, 2009-2010 (wq-cm4-03)

This study was made possible through funding from the Clean Water Legacy Amendment.

MPCA programs involved in groundwater

A variety of MPCA programs are involved with groundwater data:

• Groundwater Monitoring and Assessment
• Feedlots
• Open and closed landfills
• Large sewage treatment systems
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting
• Metropolitan Area Groundwater Model
• Petroleum Remediation Program
• Resource Conservation And Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action
• Superfund Program
• Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) Program
• Wellhead Protection Program

Groundwater data and information

• MPCA's most recent data from well testing is available through EDA's groundwater page: Groundwater
• Endocrine Active Chemicals and Other Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Minnesota’s Groundwater, 2009-2010 (wq-cm4-03)
• Minnesota's Groundwater Condition: A Statewide View (wq-gw1-02)
• Groundwater monitoring publications
• General information: Groundwater basics
• Metropolitan Area Groundwater Model
• Natural Attenuation of Groundwater
• Regional Groundwater Profiles

Other organizations involved with groundwater

• Board of Water and Soil Resources
  BWSR provides outreach and comprehensive water planning to local government officials, planners and managers.
• Metropolitan Council
  Metropolitan Council is responsible for planning the regional water supply for the seven-county metropolitan region. As a part of this responsibility, the council periodically updates data and information on water supply and demand and prepares water-use projections for the metropolitan area.
• Minnesota Department of Agriculture
  MDA is the lead state agency for all aspects of pesticide and fertilizer environmental and regulatory functions, and monitors groundwater for the presence of agricultural chemicals.
• Minnesota Department of Health - Groundwater
  MDH has water-quality information for approximately 16,000 public water supply wells.
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
  DNR tracks groundwater use and levels, and in some cases oversees tests to determine whether pumping a new or existing well affects water levels in nearby wells. They have groundwater level information available for about 1,500 observation wells.
• Minnesota Geological Survey
  Maintains the County Well Index database which has water-level data from more than 300,000 wells statewide and the ability to select data by aquifer, location, and other parameters.