Skip to main content

Improving Minnesota's water impact downstream starts here at home

Subhead
More than 40 percent of Minnesota's waters are currently impaired or polluted

Standing beside Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi River begins its 2,350-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico, Gov. Mark Dayton kicked off a “Year of Water Action” in Minnesota.
He urged businesses, the agricultural industry, outdoor enthusiasts, communities and families to take action to conserve and improve water quality.
Throughout the next 12 months, Dayton and his administration will visit school classrooms, water treatment facilities, research institutions and farms.
He’ll encourage Minnesotans to learn more about the challenges facing our waters and empower individuals to take actions in their own lives to be part of the solution.
He called on Minnesotans to rethink how water impacts daily life and the lives of future generations; to use water efficiently and wisely in everyday activities; to learn more about how to protect and preserve water; to make informed consumer choices; and to talk to one another about water protection and preservation.
Dayton called on Minnesotans to work together to find solutions to keep Minnesota’s water clean and accessible to everyone.
Despite the state’s abundance of lakes, rivers, groundwater and streams, more than 40 percent of Minnesota’s waters are currently listed as impaired or polluted (according to the Minnesta Pollution Control Agency).
Damaging aquatic invasive species have infested more than 550 lakes statewide (according to the DNR).
The water treatment plants and clean drinking water systems that make Minnesotans’ water safe to drink, cook with, and bathe in are also in serious disrepair.
Some communities still rely on pipes installed over 100 years ago for their drinking water. In fact, Minnesota is $11 billion behind in just maintaining our aging water treatment and delivery systems over the next 20 years (according to the U.S. EPA).
And testing indicates that 60 percent of the wells in Central Minnesota may not provide safe drinking water (according to the MPCA).
While state and local governments can play an important role in protecting and conserving water quality, these public entities cannot do it alone.
It’s up to Minnesota families and private industry to lead the way with most land privately owned and with private water usage comprising the majority of consumption in the state.
Local efforts of soil and water conservation districts, watershed districts, civic groups and individual landowners are essential to protecting and conserving water quality.
The Mississippi River Headwaters Watershed at Itasca is a nearly 2,000-square-mile area where about 44 percent of the land in the watershed is privately owned.
Land and water use decisions here — as in watersheds across Minnesota — affect fish and wildlife health, the amount of sediment in shipping channels, and the quality of water flowing out of residential faucets.
To learn how to protect and preserve clean water in Minnesota, visit: http://mn.gov/governor/issues/wateraction/.   

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.