A Public Information Meeting was held by the Centennial Utilities Board of Commissioners at Circle Pines City Hall (Wednesday, April 18, 2018) where the updated Part 2 of the Circle Pines Wellhead Protection Plan was presented for public review and discussion.

Circle Pines is amending its Wellhead Protection Plan for its drinking water supply wells. The Minnesota Department of Health approved the amendment of Part 2 (of 2 parts) of the city’s plan. Part 2 includes information pertaining to:

1. The inventory of potential contaminants of concern within the Drinking Water Supply Management Area (DWSMA);
2. The data that was considered in this portion of the plan;
3. Issues, problems and concerns within the DWSMA;
4. Goals, objectives and action strategies to address issues of concern;
5. A Plan evaluation strategy; and
6. A contingency strategy in the event of water system disruption.

Centennial Utilities Chair Andy Dahl and John Greer (Barr Engineering) indicates Circle Pines Drinking Water Supply Management Area (DWSMA)

A copy of the draft Part 2 Plan is available to be viewed at City Hall. The public hearing permits the public to ask questions and to comment on the draft Part 2 Plan.

What is wellhead protection? Wellhead Protection is a way to prevent drinking water from becoming contaminated by managing potential sources of pollution in the area which supplies water to the City’s wells. Much can be done to prevent pollution, such as the wise use of land and chemicals. Public health is protected and the expense of treating polluted water or drilling a new well is avoided.

What is a wellhead protection area? A wellhead protection area is a zone around a public water supply well managed to keep pollutants from rapidly reaching the community’s water supply.  The area that is managed uses easily identifiable landmarks as boundaries (e.g. streets, property lines, ditches) called the Drinking Water Supply Management Area (DWSMA).  The wellhead protection area is based on the minimum time (ten years) for a pollutant to reach the well.

Who’s Impacted?
A wellhead protection area includes hundreds to thousands of properties. Residents and businesses within a wellhead protection area are asked to cooperate with your water supplier to effectively protect our water supply without establishing additional ordinances or regulatory programs.

Centennial Utilities provides the services of natural gas, water, sewer, garbage and recycling to Circle Pines customers and provides natural gas services to Lino Lakes and Blaine customers. Centennial Utilities derived from the “cooperative lifestyle” of the City of Circle Pines forefathers. Centennial Utilities was formed to provide the community with its own utility needs.  Centennial Utilities has a Board of five Commissioners who meet monthly on the third Wednesday of the month at 4 p.m.

For more information about Circle Pines Wellhead Protection program contact Patrick Antonen at (763) 231-2605.