By Nancy Huddleston, Editor

More people have called the city to report concerns about water quality.

Kewi Liu of 139th Street took it a step further and came to Monday night’s (Nov. 16) Savage City Council meeting. He was armed with a black pan that he said shows how drastically the city’s water quality has changed since it started purchasing water from Burnsville late this summer.

Liu held up the pan pointing to the inside, which had a white chalky substance on it. “I use this to boil eggs once a week,” he said. “I’ve stopped bothering to wash it.”

Liu said the white residue also coats dishes washed in his dishwasher and wanted to know what the city puts in its water. “What’s this white stuff?” he asked, “Please tell us.”

Liu met with Water Utilities Superintendent Mike Klimers after the meeting and Klimers came to his home Tuesday (Nov. 17) to get a water sample.

Klimers said Savage is working with Burnsville to find out what’s causing the white film. He said they are investigating what might be magnesium hardness that could possibly be coming from the water in Burnsville.

The city’s water department has fielded about a dozen calls this week about water that tastes and smells funny and about a white film being deposited on washed dishes. Prior to this week, the city had received another dozen calls from residents with similar concerns.

Burnsville water?

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 its treatment process.

And on Nov. 17, public works officials reported to the Burnsville City Council that they have found that using granulated activate carbon (GAC) method to treat the taste the odor issues is part of the solution.

Questions

During Monday night’s meeting, Mayor Janet Williams asked for an update about the concerns raised by residents about water quality.

Public Works Director John Powell said the city’s water supply meets all Minnesota Department of Health standards and that the city takes water quality seriously.

He said if the need arises, the city can shut off the interconnect with Burnsville and only distribute water from its wells and water treatment plant.

After the meeting Powell said there are no plans to shut off the supply it is receiving from Burnsville at this time, but the amount of the flow can be varied. He also said the city’s contract with Burnsville does not require it to buy a certain amount each month.

At present, Savage is taking about 6.3 million gallons per week through the interconnect; averaging 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 varies 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 7-to-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.

Councilman Gene Abbott said the annual water quality report is on the city’s Web site, but wondered if was possible to post current water testing numbers there, too, due to the concerns raised by residents.

Powell said the latest testing information will be posted at www.cityofsavage.com so residents can compare recent data to past data. As well, he noted, Savage and Burnsville city officials are working on a coordinated approach to publicize water testing information in a manner that is convenient to residents.

Williams inquired how the city is handling complaints.

Powell said calls are being directed to Klimers and his staff. “Right now the numbers are manageable and we can go directly out to residents and see their concerns,” he said. “We can take a sample of their water.”

Powell said there is no cost to residents to have the city come out to test water.

The city is advising residents that a private company has been distributing water kits throughout the area, but this a violation of the city’s peddling ordinance. Residents with water concerns should call the city at (952) 224-3400.

The city regularly tests water for barium, radium, fluoride, haloacetic acids, mercury, nitrate, trihalomethanes, coliform, chlorine, copper, lead, sodium and sulfate.

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

Concerns?

If you are concerned about your water quality, contact Mike Klimers, utility services superintendent at (952) 224-3400 or mklimers@ci.savage.mn.us.

For last week’s story about water quality, “Is Burnsville’s water a concern in Savage?” follow this link on the Savage Pacer’s Web site: http://www.savagepacer.com/news/city-news/burnsville-s-water-concern-sav....