The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released a draft action plan to ensure safe drinking water across the state and is inviting feedback from Minnesotans. The DRAFT Minnesota Drinking Water Action Plan is a 10-year roadmap to ensure that everyone, everywhere in Minnesota has equitable access to safe and sufficient drinking water. The plan outlines anticipated future challenges, identifies risks and gaps, and proposes strategies to address them.
At the recommendation of the Clean Water Council, the Minnesota Legislature directed MDH to coordinate the development of this plan, using Clean Water Fund dollars. The plan incorporates expertise and feedback from water professionals, state and local governments, researchers and Minnesotans who drink water.
Minnesota has an outstanding record of providing safe and sufficient drinking water for customers on public water systems and continuously maintains a high rate of compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Yet, the plan identifies current and anticipated future challenges, such as limited protections for private well users, a shrinking drinking water workforce, as well as emerging risks from contaminants, pathogens and climate change.
“Safe drinking water is essential for people to be healthy and for a healthy economy, which contributes to making Minnesota one of the best places to live for children and families,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham. “This plan will guide our work over the next 10 years, and we want to hear from the people in our communities to ensure it represents their needs.”
Three key takeaways from the draft plan include:
• While people relying on public water systems can be confident in the quality of their drinking water, Minnesota’s 1.1 million private well users need further support and resources so that they, too, can be confident their drinking water is safe.
• The drinking water workforce is critical to safe drinking water, and it is shrinking. Many water operators and well contractors are retiring, and few new people are entering the field. Safe drinking water relies on supporting the current workforce and recruiting and engaging the next generation.
• Minnesota has been a leader in the nation for scanning the horizon for emerging risks to drinking water and understanding how those risks may affect people. To ensure safe drinking water into the future, Minnesota must continue anticipating, understanding and managing emerging risks.
MDH invites the public to review the DRAFT Minnesota Drinking Water Action Plan and provide input by Oct. 17. The plan, a summary and feedback form are posted at https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/cwf/fdw.html