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City Engineer Westby replied that he is sure the State has metrics it would apply but was unaware <br />of a baseline at which a water emergency would be declared. He commented that it would depend <br />on each event, as each event is different. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove stated that the aquafer that Ramsey uses is used by other communities <br />but not the entire State. She asked how the determination would be made by the State as different <br />regions receive water from different aquafers. <br /> <br />City Engineer Westby replied that it would be a possibility that the emergency would be region <br />specific. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove commented that if there was a City ordinance that guided Ramsey <br />based on the DNR guidelines she would think that would be sufficient for the City to determine <br />whether there is a water shortage. <br /> <br />City Engineer Westby replied that when the Governor issues an Executive Order declaring a water <br />deficiency, that would overrule the City ordinance. He commented that the City can continue to <br />have and follow its own restrictions but if an Executive Order is more restrictive, the City must <br />follow that. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff commented that he appreciates the comments related to potential <br />overreach. He stated that the aquafer does cover a large portion of the State and an Executive <br />Order can apply to certain regions. He commented that if there were a massive event, such as <br />pollution that could impact many communities that would have to work in unison. He commented <br />that he did not foresee this happening, but it would be good to have a plan in place rather than <br />attempting to develop a plan in the case a deficiency occurs. He stated that he would not want to <br />rely on another community regulating itself in that situation. He commented that no one predicted <br />the pandemic, but yet that occurred. <br /> <br />Councilmember Howell commented that many of her questions were already answered by staff. <br />She stated that if something is going to be done at this time, she would be more interested in <br />creating a good baseline policy where the basic requirements of the email are addressed. She <br />commented that she would favor reducing specifics in ordinance that would be difficult to enforce <br />and instead include those more specific items in a list of recommendations that could be used in <br />the case a situation such as water deficiency arises. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht stated that he would also like to see the ordinance as minimal as possible <br />in order to meet the DNR requirements. He agreed that recommendations could be developed to <br />reference in the case of an emergency situation. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley commented that he would agree to keep it basic. He noted that he has concern <br />with the Governor creating Executive Orders that the cities are charged to enforce. He stated that <br />there is a smart amount of this the City could work on related to existing regulations the City has <br />to continue to conserve water and protect infrastructure. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / February 23, 2021 <br />Page 4 of 7 <br /> <br />