Source Water Protection

Project Summary

SWP Team Members

Local Cooperation

SUMRSWPP Project Summary

The Upper Mississippi River Source Water Protection Project is a cooperative effort between the cities of St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and St. Paul and the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Metropolitan Council, and Minnesota Rural Water Association to protect sources of drinking water in the upper Mississippi River basin.

This project appears to be unique in the nation and is being closely followed by the US Environmental Protection Agency and other states.

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The cities of St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and St. Paul each relies exclusively or primarily on the Mississippi River as its source water supply. Source Water Assessments, available on the Minnesota Department of Health's Web site, were prepared for each of these water suppliers. This project is centered on the implementation measures and strategies that will put these plans in place and advance the goals of source water protection.

Although not required by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, all three cities are collaboratively preparing Source Water Protection (SWP) Plans through the Upper Mississippi River Source Water Protection Project, a Section 319 Project.

The Project is focused on the implementation of Source Water Protection Plans for St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. The project will provide a means to coordinate the drinking water protection efforts of surface water and groundwater-based public water suppliers with the "project area", an area of approximately 7,700 square miles.

Through previous projects, the cities of St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and St. Paul have established working relationships with many of the watershed groups in the project area. Building on these relationships, this project will provide the means to support and work collaboratively with these groups on issues of common interest. This project is focused strongly on participation of local government, including watershed groups.

In addition to developing strategies and practices to protect drinking water supplies, this project will continue to advance the development of procedures and a framework by which local, state, and federal government bodies can effectively support source water protection.

Actions within the entire Mississippi River basin above the intakes influence the quality of the surface and groundwater resources within the project area. Therefore, the water suppliers have each identified the entire Mississippi River watershed upstream of their respective intakes as their "Source Water Protection Watersheds."

Within the project area are many groundwater-based community water suppliers. Through this project, source water protection strategies and practices will be developed and implemented.

The Mississippi River upstream of the Twin Cities is adversely influenced by point and non-point pollution threats that are currently not well-understood. The Mississippi River and several of its tributaries within the project area are listed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as impaired. Source water protection will focus prominently on improving and protecting water quality at the watershed level. Both point and non-point contaminant sources will be addressed by source water protection practices and management strategies.

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