DNR offers to double Lake Elmo's legal water supply

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources would allow Lake Elmo to more than double its legal take of groundwater under a draft permit that could resolve a water crisis in the fast-growing suburb.

The proposed permit would require the city to drop its legal challenge to a 2017 Ramsey County District Court ruling meant to protect water levels in White Bear Lake. The order restricted water use in communities within a 5-mile radius of the lake, which included some of Lake Elmo's groundwater wells.

City Council will consider the proposal during a closed-session meeting on Jan. 16.

The DNR proposed the draft permit after denying similar requests from Lake Elmo in 2020 and 2022. The city has asked for more water as thousands of new residents were drawn to the Washington County community for its small-town, rural feel, pushing water demand from 308 million gallons per year in 2020 to 535 million gallons in 2023.

Lake Elmo says it needs 540 million gallons per year to comply with requirements in the Metropolitan Council's growth plan, according to city documents. The city became obligated to follow the Met Council plan after tying into the regional authority's wastewater treatment system.

The draft permit would allow Lake Elmo to draw 472 million gallons of water per year from the aquifer, with additional capacity once the city connects more homes to its water system.

Another 45 million gallons per year would be allowed when the city completes a connection to the 505 homes in the Cimarron Park Manufactured Home Park; 18 million more gallons would be permitted when an additional 204 Lake Elmo homes specified in the draft permit are connected.

If those conditions were met, the city could draw a total of 535 million gallons per year.

The permit also would require Lake Elmo to submit an enforceable plan to phase down per-capita residential water use to 75 gallons per day. The city also would have to submit a water plan by June 2027 to partially or fully replace its use of groundwater with surface water, presumably from the Mississippi or St. Croix rivers.

The permit would expire in June 2027, and the city's permitted water authorization would fall back to 260 million gallons per year. That's when legislative authorization provided to the DNR to increase Lake Elmo's permitted water use expires and the Met Council's comprehensive water supply plan is due.

The hope is that at that point the state would have a comprehensive approach to addressing the water supply in the White Bear Lake area, according to the DNR. The department could then use the results of that plan to set Lake Elmo's long-term water appropriation.

The city has already taken more water — nearly 535 million gallons last year — than the 260 million gallons allowed under its current water permit, which was issued in 2018. So far, Lake Elmo hasn't faced penalties for exceeding its permit, but the DNR has authority to issue a $40,000 fine.

If the city doesn't agree to the draft permit, it could continue to fight for more water through the contested case hearing that it has pursued since last year. The city made its oral presentation in December, and written memorandums will continue to be filed until Feb. 20, said attorney James J. Thomson, who represents Lake Elmo in the administrative hearing. After that date, Administrative Law Judge Eric L. Lipman has 90 days to issue a binding ruling.

Citing the ongoing negotiations, Lake Elmo City Council members and interim City Administrator Clark Schroeder declined to comment on the draft permit.