A recent article posted on the WJON Radio website reported 60 percent of the groundwater monitoring wells sampled across central Minnesota are contaminated with nitrates well above the safe drinking water standard.

 

The report released by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency last week says some affected cities include Becker, Clear Lake, Cold Spring, Hastings, Goodhue, Adrian and Park Rapids.

Becker City Administrator Greg Pruszinske responded to the article after the city received numerous phone calls and messages expressing their concerns.

 

“Becker’s municipal water is fine,” Pruszinske said. “We sample our municipal wells for nitrates on a regular basis.”

 

Pruszinske says the city’s samples are analyzed and sent to an independent lab for analysis, and the  MN Dept. of Health performs their own sampling and analysis. 

 

“The MN Dept of Health has set the ceiling for nitrates at 10 Parts Per Million (PPM),” he said. “Becker has one well that has a nitrates levels in the 4 to 5 PPM range, well below the maximum nitrate level. Our other municipal wells are below that level.”

 

 Pruszinske says the city proactively monitors their water as a precaution. 

 

“Proactively meaning more that the MN Dept.of Health requires,” he said. “With the additional monitoring, we will be able to identify trends (increase or decrease) in the nitrates level.”

Gov. Mark Dayton said the report “underscores the urgent need to ensure that all Minnesotans have clean water.” 

 

He says he looks forward to discussing the report at his water summit Saturday.

 

Nitrate contamination can lead to illnesses such as “blue baby syndrome,” a fatal blood disorder in infants. The chemicals can enter groundwater from sources like animal manure and agricultural fertilizers. Many small cities are spending millions of dollars to address the problem.