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Description

In 2014, the Minneapolis Health Department embarked on an effort to learn more about the quality of drinking water drawn from groundwater through the transient non-community water supply (TNCWS) wells on Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) properties. These wells provide drinking water to park and trail users. Per a delegated agreement between the Minneapolis Health Department (Minneapolis) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Minneapolis is required to annually test the water at the wells for total coliform and nitrates. There is no additional testing required as these wells are not a primary drinking public water supply. The results from this additional sampling effort drove a protocol change in Minneapolis and starting in 2017 every TNCWS well is tested annually for lead and assessed for action. The presentation will focus on the decision to test the TNCWS wells in Minneapolis beyond the regulatory requirements, the results that were found and the work that followed and continues, the plans going forward for these wells, the risk of lead contamination from hand-pump wells, and the multi-agency partnerships that made this work possible.

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