Each year, the City of Eden Prairie issues the results of monitoring done on its drinking water to advance consumers’ understanding of drinking water and heighten awareness of the need to protect precious water resources. The monitoring results in this report cover the period from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019.

Please note: In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of producing this report, the City of Eden Prairie provides the annual Drinking Water Report in an online version only — please consider the environment before printing the report.

Source of Eden Prairie Drinking Water

The City of Eden Prairie provides drinking water to its residents from a groundwater source. This includes 15 groundwater wells ranging from 381- to 420-feet deep that draw water from the Jordan-Prairie du Chien aquifer group.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has made a determination as to how vulnerable our systems' source(s) of water may be to future contamination incidents. If you wish to obtain the entire source water assessment, please call 651-201-4700 or 1-800-818-9318 (and press 5) during normal business hours. View the source water assessment report online.

Educational Opportunities

The Eden Prairie Water Treatment Plant has an outstanding Environmental Learning Center and tours are offered for students wishing to learn more about public water systems. Learn more and schedule a tour.

The Water Treatment Plant is also the site of St. Cloud Technical and Community College's Water Environment Technologies Training program. This 12-month program provides students with the skills for jobs in drinking and wastewater treatment, as well as water and sewer maintenance. Learn more about this program or call 320-308-5952.

Water Softening

The City utilizes a lime-softening water treatment process that removes most of the calcium and magnesium from the water, resulting in softened water. Raw water drawn from the aquifer has a total hardness of 380 parts per million (ppm). After the water travels through the lime-softening plant, the total hardness is reduced to 90 ppm.

Some of the benefits Eden Prairie residents receive from softened water include:

• Increased efficiency for soaps and detergents
• Reduction in mineral staining on fixtures
• Softer skin and clean, smooth hair
• Fabrics that are softer, last longer and stay whiter
• Increased lifespan of water appliances such as ice makers, dishwashers, water heaters and clothes washers
• No need to maintain your own water softener
• No salt brine discharge to the wastewater system, minimizing impacts to the environment

Questions?

Contact Rick Wahlen, utility operations manager, at 952-949-8530 for questions and information about the City's drinking water, opportunities for public participation in decisions that may affect the quality of water, or to learn about volunteering for the lead and copper household water testing program.

If you wish to learn more about scheduling a tour of the Water Treatment Plant, the City's lawn watering policies or would like a copy of this report please contact Joe Dusek, water treatment plant supervisor, at 952-294-5902.

Water Quality Monitoring Results — Summary

No contaminants were detected at levels that violated federal drinking water standards. However, some contaminants were detected in trace amounts that were below legal limits. The tables at the end of this report show the contaminants that were detected in trace amounts last year. Some contaminants are sampled less frequently than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not change frequently. As a result, not all contaminants were sampled for in 2018. If any of these contaminants were detected the last time they were sampled for, they are included in the table along with the date that the detection occurred. Abbreviations are listed at the bottom of this report.

Compliance with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals, and in some cases, radioactive materials, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

Monitoring may have been done for additional contaminants that do not have maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) established for them and are not required to be monitored under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Results are available by calling 651-201-4700 or 800-818-9318 during normal business hours.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons, such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly and infants, can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

Inorganic Contaminants – Source Water (Household Testing)

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The City of Eden Prairie is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components.

When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested.

Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the EPA's website.

Key to Abbreviations

AL – Action Level: The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirement which a water system must follow.

MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level: The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

MCLG – Maximum Contaminant Level Goal: The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

MRDL – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level

MRDLG – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal

N/A – Not Applicable (does not apply).

90th-Percentile Level – This is the value obtained after disregarding 10% of the samples taken that had the highest levels. For example, in a situation in which 10 samples were taken, the 90th percentile level is determined by disregarding the highest result, which represents 10% of the samples. Note: in situations in which only five samples are taken, the average of the two with the highest levels is taken to determine the 90th-percentile level.

nd – No detection

ppb – Parts per billion, which can also be expressed as micrograms per liter (ug/l).

ppm – Parts per million, which can also be expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/l).