2021 Community-Focused Groundwater Sampling Summaries

As part of the 2021 community-focused groundwater sampling program, over 2,100 private well owners were offered a no-cost water test kit for arsenic, chloride, lead, manganese, and nitrate. Individual private well testing results, health concerns, and treatment recommendations were mailed to each participant as results became available.

Fact sheets summarizing results for Vermillion, Vermillion Township, Empire Township, Nininger Township, Hampton, Hampton Township, New Trier, Waterford Township, Sunfish Lake, South St. Paul, West St. Paul, and Mendota Heights are available on the Community Sampling Results webpage. The Cities of Mendota and Lilydale were offered the opportunity to test, but no requests were received. The fact sheet will be sent to each of the cities and townships, and Environmental Resources Department staff have offered to present results at city council and township meetings. As of June 20, one presentation was given at the Vermillion Township meeting on Thursday, June 2, 2022.

Below are the number of testing exceedances for each of the cities/townships:

  • Nitrate: Vermillion/Vermillion Township (53), Hampton/Hampton Township/New Trier (28), Nininger Township (27), Empire Township (9), Waterford Township (4), and West St. Paul (1)
  • Manganese: Sunfish Lake (9), Empire Township (9), Waterford Twp (5), Vermillion/Vermillion Twp (5), and West St. Paul (1)
  • Chloride: Waterford Township (1) and Hampton/Hampton Township/New Trier (1).
  • Lead: Vermillion/Vermillion Township(2), Waterford Township (1), and Nininger Township (1)

This effort aligns with the Dakota County Groundwater Plan strategy 1A3 (tactic 1A3E) to provide private well owners with the opportunity to have their water tested for free for pollutants that present health concerns.

Providing targeted water sampling is an important part of the County’s ongoing groundwater protection and education programs. Offering water testing provides multiple benefits, including giving well owners an opportunity to understand health concerns related to their drinking water and improving the County’s understanding of community risks from groundwater contamination.

Contact: Wes Rutelonis, Environmental Resources Specialist, Wes.Rutelonis@co.dakota.mn.us , (952)-891-7537