By Nancy Huddleston, Editor

Is there a problem with water quality in Savage now that the city is buying water on a daily basis from Burnsville?

According to officials in the public works department, they’ve fielded calls of concern from about a dozen of the city’s 8,500 water account holders. Those calls have come from various parts of the city, so at best it’s a sporadic problem, they’ve concluded.

“We’re not experiencing anything like the level of complaints in Burnsville,” said Public Works Director John Powell.

But June Haeske of 137th Street is one resident who’s called to complain about the odor of her water and that her dishes are now being coated with a film every time she runs her dishwasher.

“My main concern is that if they think this problem is only sporadic, they won’t do anything about it,” she said.

In August, Savage started buying water from Burnsville on a daily basis. That’s the same month the Kraemer Quarry Water Treatment Plant went on line. The plant treats water pumped from the Kraemer Mining and Materials limestone quarry next to the Minnesota River. The surface water is blended with water from Burnsville’s groundwater treatment plant.

The plant was funded by the state, Burnsville, Savage and Kraemer Mining and captures 4 million gallons of water a day from the quarry bottom and walls that was being dumped into the Minnesota River.

Burnsville began fielding complaints from its residents shortly after the plant opened about water that smelled and tasted musty and/or metallic. Since that time, the public works department has determined the problem is coming from decaying algae that produces organic compounds in the surface-water reservoir at the quarry and inconsistent dosages of chlorine at the treatment plant.

Burnsville city officials are working on the problem and have made some adjustments to the treatment process. Since the plant opened, Burnsville has gotten about 300 calls from its 60,000 water customers.

Problems here?

When Haeske began noticing an odor in her water and that a white film was covering her dishes, she called the city.

She had her dishwasher serviced and was told if the problem persisted, it was the water coming into her twin home. She also checked her water softener for problems and found none. And she recently replaced her water heater, so she feels like she’s done everything she can do on her end to solve the problem.  

“Just because the calls are sporadic doesn’t mean it’s not a city-wide problem,” she said, “Someone’s got to say something about it.”

Mayor Janet Williams said she’s heard a few concerns and has offered to come to people’s homes to take a look, but no one’s taken her up on the offer. As well, she’s been proactive and asked residents who talk with her about other issues if they’ve experienced problems and hasn’t heard of any issues.

At present, Savage is taking about 6.3 million gallons per week through the interconnect or an average of about 900,000 gallons per day. Savage is producing 2.9 million gallons per week at its water treatment plants.

The ratio of Burnsville to Savage water will vary between 35 to 65 percent, Powell said, depending upon consumption.

Current consumption averages 1.9 million gallons a day, which is typical for this time of year, according to Powell. But during summer months when residents are watering lawns, consumption can skyrocket to 6-10 million gallons of water per day, depending on weather conditions.

Powell explained that the water Savage is receiving through the interconnect is a treated blend of surface water and well water from Burnsville.

“By the time we take it, it’s already blended and has gone through a good portion of Burnsville’s system,” he said. “Then it gets mixed with our water so it’s pretty well diluted.”

Savage and Burnsville executed a long-term water use purchase agreement in 2007. Savage paid $2 million to Burnsville for a connection charge to help offset plant expansion construction costs, according to Powell. And the $116,000 cost for the interconnect between the two cities was split in half.

For the first year, Savage pays Burnsville $54,667 per month in water use charges, which gives access to between 300 and 730 million gallons annually. The monthly rate charges goes up 4 percent annually.

Comparably, it costs Savage $1.80 per 1,000 gallons on average to treat water from its wells that go into the Jordan, Prairie du chein, Franconia, and Mount Simon aquifers.

Powell does not expect the costs that Burnsville is incurring to correct problems being reported by its residents will be passed onto Savage.

Surface water?

Garry Larson, the city’s former water utilities superintendent, says surface water and ground water don’t mix well. He points to a study done years ago when the city initially explored water-sharing options to back up his statement. At the time, consultants advised that the two waters wouldn’t be compatible.

“The chemical composition is different,” he explained. “Surface water is notorious for smell and taste problems.”

What’s more, Larson said, the two cities have different water systems.

“Burnsville’s is a dirty system – they don’t do the maintenance that we do,” Larson said, noting that the system is starting to “break loose” which means Burnsville must use more chlorine to treat the water. “And that starts to do funny things with the taste of the water.”

Larson said Savage’s system is “very well balanced” and the city has a proactive flushing program to keep the system clean.

So he’s not surprised to hear of the problems in Burnsville and the complaints in Savage.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said, pointing out that Burnsville will need to get more proactive about cleaning its system to clear the problem out. “And that takes time – it could be years,” he said.

Haeske said she was aware of the city’s effort to find alternative water sources in an effort to meet the growing demand and be environmentally responsible. She also understands all the hard work that has gone into building an interconnect so the two cities can share water.

Larson, too, sees the environmental value of water sharing in a growing community that needs to be sensitive about environmental impacts.

But he also sees the downside of mixing two different waters from two different communities. He also points out that when he worked for the city and water-sharing options were explored, consultants concluded that if Savage wanted to share water with another community, its water was more compatible with Shakopee’s water.

“I saw this coming,” he said, but notes now the two cities need to work together to solve the problem.

He said the taste and odor issues can be solved with more chemicals, specifically adding ammonia to the treatment process which will enable the chlorine to carry through the entire system.

But that’s another worry for Haeske, who said she hopes there’s a better solution that more chemicals. “Everything’s got chemicals in it – the food we eat and the stuff we drink,” she said. “So I hope they can figure out a way to clean up the water without adding more harmful chemicals to our drinking water.”

Powell said the city is monitoring the situation in Burnsville and regular testing of Savage’s water supply shows it is safe to use.

He explained Savage tests its water at a minimum of nine points at least once and at different locations each work day.

“We have added two extra locations each work day since opening the interconnect,” he explained, “The Minnesota Department of Health requires Burnsville and Savage to obtain a quantity of samples per week for independent lab analysis. If these samples do not meet water quality standards we are notified.”

“We are confident and comfortable with the quality of water we’re getting from Burnsville from a drinking water standpoint,” he said. “And we know they are actively involved in trying to address the issues raised by their residents.”

The city is fielding complaints by residents on a case-by-case basis, and residents with concerns can contact Mike Kilmers, utility superintendent, at (952) 224-3400, if they have concerns.

Powell said if residents have concerns, the city is willing to come out to test the water on site for taste and odor.

Nancy Huddleston can be reached at editor@savagepacer.com.

Do you have concerns about your water, or is your water fine? Go to www.savagepacer.com, sign up as a registered user to talk about your experience with the city’s water supply.