![\"Answer](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/1afc173\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/470x250+0+0\/resize\/840x447!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffcc-cue-exports-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fpostbulletin%2Fbinary%2F501d3a083e3b777f31c10ada53da647f_binary_5053010.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDear Answer Man: Recently, there’s been discussion about the need of more safe drinking water that will be required for the city of Rochester due to an increasing population and greater use by large commercial users, particularly Mayo Clinic as it expands its downtown footprint. How do the state and city \u2014 mainly meaning Rochester Public Utilities here\u2014 explain how those organizations are connected? Finally, what does it take to recharge the aquifers? \u2014 John Gives Assignments.<\/p>\n
Dear John,<\/p>\n
I haven’t been handed a term paper like this since I matriculated at Good Ol’ State University back in my younger days.<\/p>\n
My nickname in college was Smart Aleck Guy. Aren’t we all glad Answer Man has evolved?<\/p>\n
Anyway, it is true that <\/p>\n
RPU has been looking into Rochester’s watery future<\/p>\n
and seen a need to change some of its drinking water practices. The main issue \u2014 and here we can thank Tom Jorgenson, spokesman for RPU, for some facts \u2014 is that Rochester currently uses 32 wells to draw groundwater, primarily from the Jordan Aquifer, to fill everyone’s glass with safe drinking water. The same water washes our clothes, waters our lawns and cleans us when we need to smell nice. <\/p>\n
Those wells pump out between 4.5 billion and 5 billion gallons of water annually, Jorgenson said, quoting RPU statistics. <\/p>\n
“Approximately 50% of RPU\u2019s water use is residential, with the remaining 50% serving commercial, industrial, institutional, and other customers and uses,” Jorgenson said. <\/p>\n
And yes, as the city grows \u2014 Rochester has a long history of double-digit percentage growth each decade according to the U.S. Census \u2014 so will the need for water. <\/p>\n
That said, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has Rochester’s municipal groundwater limit capped at about 5.7 billion gallons annually. The DNR will not be raising that cap, at least from the Jordan Aquifer. Surface water \u2014 from the Mississippi or Zumbro rivers \u2014 or a deeper aquifer are other options. <\/p>\n
None of this is an immediate problem. <\/p>\n
The growth in usage is expected to reach as much as 8.1 billion gallons annually in 2065. <\/p>\n
Answer Man will be Annoying Opinion Grandpa by then. <\/p>\n
Still, Jorgenson said, the new water system master plan is intended to determine which combination of water sources can provide Rochester with a safe, reliable and sustainable water supply over the coming decades.<\/p>\n
“RPU wants to emphasize that this planning process is not solely about accommodating future growth,” Jorgenson said. “An equally important part of the study is evaluating the quality of our existing water sources and determining how RPU can continue to protect public health, meet evolving drinking-water regulations, and improve the aesthetic quality of the water.”<\/p>\n
That means RPU is looking at things like naturally occurring iron and manganese in its current groundwater sources that can contribute to “rusty water concerns for customers.”<\/p>\n
That’s all about future water. You asked about some special commitment between RPU and either the state of Minnesota or Mayo Clinic, certainly one of the biggest customers in town. <\/p>\n
The state, primarily through the DNR, regulates water usage for cities in Minnesota. For example, when the data center discussion in Pine Island focused on an open-circuit water-cooled system \u2014 that’s not what would be built in Pine Island, but this was an early-stage discussion \u2014 the city had to check with the DNR on its water pumping limits. <\/p>\n
As for Mayo Clinic, the city’s biggest employer is just another customer like you and me. <\/p>\n
“RPU does not have a special water use agreement with Mayo Clinic,” Jorgenson said. “Mayo Clinic is a water customer of RPU and is served under RPU\u2019s established water service requirements and rates, similar to other commercial and industrial customers.”<\/p>\n
Finally, you asked about recharging the groundwater sources. <\/p>\n
“Aquifer recharge rates vary considerably depending on the specific aquifer formation, its depth below ground surface, and the presence of overlying geologic layers that can restrict the movement of water,” Jorgenson said. <\/p>\n
Think of the ground and our local karst geology as a filter system. The water down there now in the aquifer, depending on depth, might have taken five years or 50 years to get there.<\/p>\n
Jorgenson said a regional groundwater model is being used to evaluate how groundwater recharge and withdrawals affect aquifer conditions, and it looks at historical conditions and projected water demands extending more than 60 years into the future. <\/p>\n
That said, the city is looking at the needs of customers big and small decades into the future.<\/p>\n
Send questions to Answer Man at <\/p>\n
answerman@postbulletin.com.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Post Bulletin illustration<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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