WORKSHOP ITEM - Jon Haukaas, Director of Public Works
Title
REVIEW CITY OF BLAINE WATER SUPPLY PLAN
Background
All public water suppliers in Minnesota that operate a public water distribution system, serve more than 1,000 people and/or all cities in the seven-county metropolitan area, must have a Water Supply Plan approved by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) per state statutes. The goal of the Water Supply Plan is to help water suppliers implement long term water sustainability and conservation measures and to develop critical emergency preparedness measures.
State Statutes require that water supply plans be updated every 10 years. A Request for Proposals process resulted in the City of Blaine hiring Barr Engineering Company to prepare the required Water Supply Plan updates and shepherd the plan through the DNR review and approval process. The Plan utilizes the Template developed by the DNR to improve review time and ensure completeness.
City Council reviewed the draft of this plan in 2018 prior to submission to the DNR. The review process is lengthy; the city received DNR comments back in July 2019, comments were addressed, and the plan re-submitted. Final approval by DNR of the plan occurred on September 11, 2020.
The Water Supply Plan has three primary parts: System Description and Evaluation, Emergency Preparedness Procedures, and Water Conservation Plan. The Plan is focused on the period from 2006-2015.
Staff will review data included in the plan describing our historic water demand and largest customers, treatment and storage capacity, projected demand out to 2040, and our ability to meet that demand.
The Water Conservation portion of the plan describes what we are doing and improvements we have made in the areas of reducing demand on this resource. Areas of focus include:
- Reduction of unaccounted water
- Reduction of residential and non-residential demand to meet DNR goals
- Education programs
State Law requires cities to adopt a Critical Water Deficiency Ordinance within six months of adoption of the Water Supply Plan. Staff will work with the City Attorney and the model ordinance developed by the League of Minnesota Cities to bring this to the City Council in early 2021.
Upon completion of the review and approval of the plan, the DNR requires that the City of Blaine officially adopt the approved plan.
Recommendation
Approve a Resolution adopting the City of Blaine Water Supply Plan.