Dakota County Monitoring Well Information Available Online

In 2021-2022, as part of the Agricultural Chemical Reduction Effort (ACRE), Environmental Resources had 15 monitoring wells installed in rural areas of the county. This project was a cooperative effort with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), which installed monitoring wells within the Drinking Water Supply Management Area (DWSMA) for the City of Hastings.

Environmental Resources and GIS staff worked together to develop an online interactive map of the monitoring wells and their results, available on the County website. The information will be updated every time the wells are sampled (three times a year). The MDA wells will be added once information is available.

Dakota County will use the results to evaluate trends in shallow groundwater and drinking water chemicals. The wells will be sampled for nitrate (NO3-N), chloride, and other chemicals.

The depth to the groundwater is measured each time samples are collected.  The depth to the water table varies across the county, from as little as 5 feet below the ground surface to as much as 156 feet. As 2022 progressed, the effects of the drought were clear. From May to August, the water levels dropped by a median of 2.52 feet (among seven wells), then recovered about a half a foot from August to November.