[This article was originally published on Oct. 8, 2008, but was later edited to correct a statement about the efficacy of carbon water filters.]

LAKE ELMO - Now that the extent of Lake Elmo groundwater contamination is better understood, officials are again moving forward with plans to expand the city's water system.

The top priorities, according to City Engineer Jack Griffin, will be to provide city water to neighborhoods near Inwood Avenue still using significantly contaminated well water, to add a third city well and to connect two existing water mains in northern Lake Elmo with a new line down Keats Avenue.

Griffin gave city council members an overview of the city's existing water system and some of the issues they will need to consider as they look at expanding the system in coming years. He said he would like to see the three high-priority projects addressed within the next three years, if possible.

"We're looking at these three critical needs as being the very next needs that the city has, and we're starting to go out and look at all the different funding sources that we can," he said.

After the meeting, Griffin explained that municipal water projects are often eligible for state and federal funds, but there are many different funding programs, each with different priorities. He said his firm, TKDA, has already started talking with government agencies to try to match proposed Lake Elmo projects with potential funding sources.

Griffin told the Lake Elmo City Council that he sees the top priority as providing city water connections to homes in the Torre Pines, Cardinal Ridge, Cardinal View and Whistling Valley neighborhoods, where carbon filters are required to get perfluorochemical (PFC) levels below guidelines set by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Without outside financial assistance, Griffin said the city would likely be unable to afford to bring city water to those neighborhoods from the Tablyn Park/Lake Elmo Heights neighborhood to the north, which was connected to the municipal water system in 2007.

"It does become a very expensive project for only 150-some homes. As a standalone project, we've already learned it's not economically viable. It's not something where you could just say, 'Here's the cost,' and divide it out for the number of homes," he said. "Now that we have the project defined, we've initiated meetings to try to find some outside assistance for it."

Griffin said another way Lake Elmo could potentially lower the cost of providing water to its southwest corner would be to work with Oakdale to create a facility that would serve both communities.

Specifically, he said such an arrangement might make it feasible to build a sophisticated treatment system that would enable Lake Elmo to use a well that was drilled in that area in 2003 but abandoned once PFCs were discovered in the water there. (Any new municipal wells drilled in Lake Elmo would be located in the northeast quadrant of the city, far from any known groundwater pollution.)

Griffin said he had already met with Oakdale officials once to gauge their potential interest in operating shared facility in southwestern Lake Elmo or southeastern Oakdale.

Hearing that, Councilman Steve DeLapp said he objected to Griffin speaking with other cities without being explicitly directed to do so by the city council.

Other Lake Elmo Council members disagreed with DeLapp, however, praising Griffin for gathering information that they said will enable him to present them with a wide range of options to consider when it is time to adopt a new comprehensive water system plan. Griffin said he hopes to have a new water system plan approved by March.

Mayor Dean Johnston said he looks forward to hearing more about the issue, and he applauded the way city staff members have handled it so far.

"I think we're where we need to be right now. We've got a very complex problem, staff is addressing it in the appropriate fashion, and I think in a matter of months we'll be looking at enough information to make those policy decisions," he said. "The biggest issue is ... how do we find funding and how do we move ahead in a financially viable manner to bring good drinking water to everybody who's affected by contamination."

In other business, the council...

• endorsed a proposed Eagle Scout project by Lake Elmo resident Kevin Schwarz, who plans to create a $9,000 veterans memorial at the VFW ballfield. Schwarz said the Lake Elmo Jaycees have already agreed to cover a significant portion of the project cost, and he expects business and individual donations to cover the remaining project costs. Those who are interested in supporting the project are encouraged to contact him at 651-779-2227 or schwarz209@aol.com.



• randomly drew eight hunters and two alternates to take part in a special deer harvest in Sunfish Lake Park on Nov. 8-9 and 15-16. The hunters were: Steve Forster, Larry Feldhahn, Mary Feldhahn, Pat Dean, John Meyer, Jerry LeMire, Michael Harrington and Douglas Ouimet. The alternates were Dennis Oeltjen and Steve Flanagan. All hunters - as well as those participating in a concurrent deer harvest at the Lake Elmo Park Reserve - will have to attend a training session at Lake Elmo Inn Event Center Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.



• unanimously approved $19,000 in improvements to the meeting room in Lake Elmo Fire Station No. 1. Fire Chief Greg Malmquist said the improvements - which include new carpet, ceiling tiles, furniture and presentation equipment - are designed to improve the room's functionality as a training facility and public meeting space.



• approved a new agreement with Linda and David Hardy to bring a house at 9224 31st St. N. up to code within six months. The new agreement replaces a previous deal reached on Nov. 6, 2006.