Agenda - Council - 12/09/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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December XXXXX, 2014 Anoka Conservation District Attn: Chris Lord 1318 McKay Dr. NE, Suite 300 Ham Lake, MN 55304 RE: ACD Draft Comprehensive Plan 2015-2019 Dear Mr. Chris Lord: Thank you for the opportunity to review the 2015-2019 Draft Comprehensive Plan. The City of Ramsey is pleased to see recognition of the emerging issues noted in the plan, especially those regarding groundwater supply, declining pollinator populations, invasive species, and habitat fragmentation. As both residential and commercial activity begins to grow again, these issues likely will be exacerbated and all can have a detrimental impact on the public's welfare and quality of life. Regarding the Resource Condition section, the City of Ramsey completed a Functional Assessment of Wetlands utilizing MnRAM 3.0 in 2007 as well as a Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) later that same year. We would be happy to provide access to both of these reports/databases if that would be of any benefit to your continued efforts of natural resource management. Both endeavors included ground-truthing of significant acreage within the city. Also within the Resource Condition section, under Water Quality, the Rum River and its tributaries, including Ford Brook, are identified as ACD's highest priority watershed. However, Ford Brook does not appear to have a designated water quality monitoring site, at least in 2013 (per Figure 15). The City of Ramsey would encourage installation or designation of a monitoring station somewhere along this brook. Under Water Quantity, still within the Resource Condition section, it appears that certain portions of Ramsey are identified to be greatly impacted by depleted surficial aquifers and potential shortages of drinking water by 2030 (Figure 8). This is of great concern to the City, both environmentally and economically. This drawdown could impact our lakes and wetlands similar to what's transpired with White Bear Lake. One potential option that should be explored is the reuse of grey water and harvesting rain water for both indoor and outdoor uses, which could lessen the demand on groundwater.