I’ve been advocating for the preservation and protection of Minnesota’s water resources with the DFL Environmental Caucus since 2014. But in early December, the issue came to my front doorstep with a loud bang. I learned the city of Elko New Market was rushing through plans for California-based Niagara Bottling to build a factory in my township, with the intent to sell 310 million gallons each year of groundwater, all in single use plastic bottles. Like many residents here, I have many questions and concerns about this project. Will our private well be impacted by the drawdown from the city’s well? Will we run out of water for other uses? The headwaters of the Vermillion river are within walking distance of my house. How will this increased water use affect the river? Why are we allowing more plastic bottles to fill our landfills and clog our oceans?
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Niagara, with a net worth of $2.4 billion and annual revenue of $500 million, could have asked the DNR for a permit to dig a well and mine the groundwater themselves, but instead they plan to buy the water from the city, at a discounted industrial rate. The city annexed and acquired a 118 acre I35 Industrial Park from the township and spent $3 million bringing in city sewer and water to the site and, and the city is anxious to benefit from its investment. The city’s updated water plan includes an additional well by 2024 and an additional water storage tower by 2025 to meet the expected water demand from Niagara and future growth. The council will vote at their June 8th meeting whether to waive the water and sewer hook up fees for Niagara (SAC $139.582 and WAC $2,945,163). The 20 properties adjacent to the site are concerned about the noise, lights, and traffic from 110 diesel trucks per day, and the loss of value to their property ($40K per each residential lot) when their quiet neighborhood becomes an industrial park.
How will the city prioritize domestic use in times of drought when the main user of their water is an industry? According to MN statute 103G.261:
Domestic water supply, excluding industrial and commercial uses of municipal water supply have first priority for use.
Niagara has a history of suing cities that try to limit their water use.
This isn’t the first time that Niagara has faced public scrutiny over expansion of water rights. In 2009 then-mayor Richard Smith of Groveland, Fla., wrote an op-ed in the Florida Times Union, stating, “I am calling on other Floridians to join our city of 7,000 residents to stand up against Niagara Bottling Co., which seeks to deplete our aquifer by nearly 500,000 gallons of water a day. This would have a crippling effect on our current and future water supply.” The water company sued the city of Groveland after it challenged its permit application. The city finally ended its water war with Niagara after a $1.35 million dollar settlement was reached. ( source)
The City of Elko New Market has requested the DNR to allow the city to triple a groundwater use permit to facilitate the proposed Niagara water bottling facility. This could draw down the surface water above the aquifer and damage the Vermillion River, a rare urban trout stream. The stream does not support trout at the headwaters in New Market Township but these waters travel downstream to the Northeast to areas that do support trout. According to DFLEC board member Dr. Lawrence Baker, recently retired from the University of Minnesota’s Ecological Engineering Group:
Decreased streamflow has several ecological effects: 1) the stream might warm up; 2) the stream might partly dry up, stranding fish; 3) if the temperature goes up, the level of oxygen saturation goes down; 4) if there is significant organic material in the stream, it oxidizes faster (due to elevated temp) in less volume (due to lower flow) and there will be a greater tendency for the dissolved oxygen to decrease enough to kill fish. This is particularly true for trout, which need higher dissolved oxygen levels than warm water fish like bass, which in turn need higher oxygen levels than carp. Hence, the overall effect of too much groundwater withdrawal is complex and profound. Scientists can model these effects pretty reliably.
Will the increased pumping of groundwater affect the Vermillion River and other surface waters?
A 2017 multi aquifer test in Lakeville determined that increased pumping of the Jordan aquifer did indeed reduce discharge in South Creek. The results surprised BJ Bonin, the DNR geologist who did the study.
Modeling done by Scott County in 2009 predicted drawdown of the surface waters with increased use by 2030. “In Dakota County, which draws the most groundwater per capita of any county in the metro, the Met Council projects that by 2040, periods of drought are “highly likely to result in local shortages” with some cities in the county seeing a 50% depletion of aquifer water.” Source
The cities of Lakeville, Empire, and Savage exceeded their groundwater permit in 2021. (Source) Regional overuse of groundwater also threatens the calcareous fens in nearby Burnsville’s Kelleher Park and Savage. These rare features are protected by statute (R. 8420.0935 subp. 4), which says that calcareous fens cannot be “impacted or otherwise altered or degraded except as provided for in a management plan approved by the commissioner.” See also this DNR fact sheet. Yet the city’s updated 2040 water plan and significant user agreement for Niagara includes no conservation measures for their largest industrial user. Instead, the council intends to charge them a flat fee, much lower than residents pay for their water, with no tiered price structure,
The city of Elko New Market hired LRE (LREwater.com) to assess the likelihood that the increased water use would draw down the surface waters of the Vermillion River. Based on county geologic maps they concluded that the source of the city well water, the Prairie du Chien Jordan aquifer, was not connected to the surface layers above, but was confined by the glacial till. However, Dr. Carrie Jennings, a geologist who specializes in glacial geology, explains in this presentation to the Elko New Market City Council that the till is not uniform, and periglacial underground tunnels connect the surface with deeper areas at several locations. These under-ice rivers that formed during the last glacial period consist of highly permeable sediments that typically extend well below the surface, often all the way to bedrock, and directly connect surface waters to the deep aquifer. The only way to know if these tunnels exist at the site is to conduct a carefully designed, multi-aquifer test.
The DNR ruled that an aquifer test is required before the city can get its use appropriation increase. Many thanks to advocates from Trout Unlimited, Sierra Club, and especially Carly Griffith of Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Dr. Carrie Jennings of the Freshwater Society, and resident Janelle Kuznia, for their work to require the multi-aquifer test. The city plans to pay their consultant, LRE, around $100,000 of taxpayer money to conduct the study. The DNR will need to approve the test and verify the results.
This fight is not over. We must conserve and protect our groundwater resources for future generations. A regional approach to managing this resource is needed or our wells will run dry and rare surface features such as calcareous fens and trout streams will be lost. The DFL Environmental Caucus will continue to work with our allies to advocate for the protection of our shared resources and the elimination of single use plastics. Please join us and protect what you love!