EQC Meeting Date: February 21, 2024
To: Members of the Environmental Quality Commission
From: Justin Wagner, Utilities Manager
Title
Review Water Treatment Plant Renderings and Landscaping
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield Environmental Quality Commission is being asked to provide input on the water treatment plant renderings and landscaping.
Summary Report:
On April 5, 2022 the City Council accepted the Water System Study which recommended the construction of a new Water Treatment Plant. The Water System Study was in response to newly developed health-based standard for manganese for infants under 1 year old to not consume manganese in drinking water above 100 ug/L. Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral in the ground and is in groundwater where the City pumps its water from multiple wells. Three (3) of the five (5) wells that the City has are above the health-based standard for infants. The City currently recommends that infants do not consume the City produced tap water. The treatment plant will make water safe for all to drink at the tap with no further treatment needed.
The City Council followed the Water System Study and approved a contract for design of the new Water Treatment Plant with Bolton and Menk Inc. and BARR Engineering Co. The water treatment plant will be designed to meet current and future regulations by means of gravity filtration and reverse osmosis with a design flow of 6.6 Million Gallons per Day. The gravity filtration will help lower the iron and manganese and the reverse osmosis will protect the City from any future unknown or known contaminants such as PFAS and chlorides. Additionally, the reverse osmosis will soften the drinking water, then the reverse osmosis water will be blended back with gravity filtered water to protect downstream pipes from corrosion while still providing water that is around 90 mg/L of hardness or below the Minnesota Department of Health's recommended level for additional softening of water in...
Click here for full text