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1. Why does the City need to build a water treatment plant?

The city's water is above a Minnesota Department of Health guideline for manganese and is not recommended to be consumed by infants under 1 year old. The way to lower the level of manganese in the water is by providing treatment.

2. What treatment will the City water provide?

The new water treatment plant will use gravity filtration with reverse osmosis to remove iron, manganese and hardness minerals or calcium and magnesium.

3. It seems like the treatment plant is very expensive, were there other options studied to provide safe drinking water for all residents?

Yes, the city's consultant studied 3 treatment options:

1. Gravity filtration
2. Gravity filtration with reverse osmosis
3. Gravity filtration with lime softening

4. Why was gravity filtration with reverse osmosis selected as the best treatment option for the City?

Gravity filtration with reverse osmosis was selected because of the removal of manganese in the drinking water, the resiliency to future contaminants, the quality of water provided and the reduction of chlorides being added to drinking water through home water softeners thus resulting in lower levels of chlorides being discharged to the Cannon River.

5. Did the City explore other treatment options, such as pressure filters, to remove iron and manganese?

Yes, however they were not recommended as options based on the scale of the drinking water system.

6. Will the water be softened?

Yes, the water will be softened to roughly 90 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or what is considered moderately hard.

7. Do I need to further soften my water?

The decision to further soften or not is up to residents; however, the City is recommending residents do not further soften their water.

8. Will the water hardness level cause issues with my high efficient appliances or void their warranties?

No, the Minnesota Department of Health states that “If your water’s hardness is greater than 7 grains per gallon or 120mg/L, then you might need a water softener to ensure your appliances run well.” The City will provide water with roughly 90 mg/L or lower than the Minnesota Department of Health’s recommended softening level.

9. When will the new water treatment plant be providing filtered and softened water to the Northfield properties?

The water treatment plant is expected to be operational in 2026.

10. When the water treatment plant becomes operational, will it cause water chemistry issues?

When the water treatment plant first becomes operational, there will be a change in the water. City staff will conduct additional hydrant flushing to remove any built up discoloration in the water so that residents will be able to see the benefit of the new treated water as soon as possible.