Agenda - Council Work Session - 08/09/2010

Home

• The existing groundwater supply can only supply adequate water to meet the 2014 projected water supply demands. • The Mississippi River is a viable water source for the City of Ramsey's water supply demands. • Treatment of the Mississippi River water to drinking water standards can be achived through using conventional treatment processes along with ultrafiltration. • The existing groundwater supply can supplement the surface water supply and provide for a redundant water supply. • The proposed surface water treatment facility will include processes to treat groundwater to the same finished water quality as the surface water • In order to consider using the FIG aquifer for supplying future water supply demands, the MnDNR would require a hydrogeological study proving no interference with surrounding surface water aquifers. The recommendations of the study were: • Proceed with the conceptual design phase for providing Mississippi River water as the water supply to the City of Ramsey. This phase will include raw water intake and piping layouts, a detailed water treatment process layout, a detailed site layout, connection to the water distribution system, and a total capital and operation and maintenance cost estimate. • Review the hydrogeological study prepared by the Metropolitan Council to verify if there is interference with the FIG aquifer and surface waters in the Ramsey area. • Continue to pursue State funding from the legislature for north metro regional surface water treatment facility. Todays's status and options In the 2004 Comprehensive Water Supply Study that was prepared by Bolton and Menk, it projected population growth as shown in the attachment. At the time we were in a rapid rate of growth and the demand for additional capacity discussions was paramount. Since then we have installed 3 new groundwater wells, installed watermain connections across the City (NW water project, Garnet Street watermain, etc) and are nearing completion of a doubling of our above ground storage capacity. In short, we have come a long way in securing that we will have adequate capacity for continued growth. Although the conclusions of the study indicated that the water supply demands will outweigh the water supply capacity in 2014, the population projects and the state of the economy and rate of growth were overestimated. That being said, there also is a great deal of work to do and infrastructure that needs to be installed if a water treatment facility is to become a reality. The design, development, and review of the system would take nearly a year with construction 2-3 years to complete. Attached to the case are some issues that are common to the two types of water supply options available to the City of Ramsey and costs for each of the alternatives. Staff will be available to discuss these in more detail and discuss the assumptions that were made. The purpose of the case tonight is to gather input from the City Council as to its desire to follow through with the recommendations of the study and proceed with the conceptual design phase as well as to put this on our list of legislative priorities for the upcoming year.