Laserfiche WebLink
5. COMMITTEE BUSINESS <br /> <br />5.01: Consider Recommendation to City Council Supporting Metropolitan Council Study <br />for Northwest Metropolitan Area Regional Surface Water Supply Facility <br /> <br />City Engineer Westby stated that Metropolitan Council staff have long been aware that the City <br />of Ramsey has explored the use of surface water to augment, or even possibly replace, our <br />groundwater supply sources for our municipal water supply. More than a year ago, staff from <br />the Metropolitan Council informed City staff that funds were available to conduct a study to <br />explore the feasibility of constructing a regional surface water supply facility in the northwest <br />metro area, and asked if staff was aware of any other cities that might be interested in partnership <br />with us to explore the feasibility of a regional surface water supply facility. <br /> <br />City Engineer stated that since then, staff contacted their counterparts in neighboring cities in <br />Anoka County to discus the possibility of partnering with us on a regional surface water supply <br />facility. Those discussions were not fruitful. Then recently, staff was informed that the cities of <br />Dayton and Rogers might be interested in partnering in such a study. Staff was later informed <br />that the City of Corcoran might also be interested. Staff has since informed Metropolitan <br />Council staff that three other cities have expressed an interest in partnering with us, at which <br />time Metropolitan Council staff asked if each City would be able to adopt supporting resolutions, <br />which Metropolitan Council staff would then use to request funding for the study on their end. <br /> <br />City Engineer Westby reported that staff from each partnering city plans to request City Council <br />adoption of a supporting resolution at the earliest opportunity. For the City of Ramsey, staff <br />rd <br />proposes to request adoption of a supporting resolution at the October 23 City Council meeting. <br />He recommended approving a recommendation to the City Council to adopt a resolution <br />supporting a Metropolitan Council study for a Northwest Metropolitan area regional surface <br />water supply facility. <br /> <br />Chairperson Riley asked the reasons why some other cities do not want to participate. <br /> <br />City Engineer Westby replied that some cities have their own systems and do not feel that they <br />would benefit from this study. He stated that some of the more rural cities are simply content <br />with their current system or do not have their own water supply systems. <br /> <br />Councilmember Johns asked if Elk River has its own system. <br /> <br />City Engineer Westby replied that Elk River uses a private water utility to supply their water. He <br />stated that this would be a partnership of four cities to determine what the costs would be to <br />determine if there would be a feasible and affordable option. He stated that if the costs appear to <br />be reasonable for a regional facility, he would expect each of the four cities to reach out again to <br />determine if there would be additional interest. He explained that this is simply a planning study <br />that will allow more information to be gathered for planning a future regional water supply <br />facility. <br /> <br />Public Works Committee / October 16, 2018 <br />Page 2 of 5 <br /> <br />