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Residents press Rosemount officials for faster action on water contaminants, request filter program for infants
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Summary
At public comment, residents urged the city to offer household filters for infants and accelerate work on 'gross alpha' and elevated manganese in Rosemount's water; staff said Minnesota accepted the city's remediation plan and will publish quarterly updates.
Residents at Tuesday’s Rosemount City Council meeting pressed officials for clearer protections after public discussion about elevated contaminants in the city’s water supply.
Vanessa Dimuth said meeting minutes from April 7 misstated her earlier remarks and urged the city to begin distributing water filters immediately to households with infants 12 months and younger until treatment is online. "I asked for the city to offer the water filters starting now to households with infants 12 of age and younger until water treatment is online," Dimuth said.
Another resident, Ashley, described buying a countertop reverse-osmosis system and said she was unsure whether home filters adequately protect children from long-term health risks. "I'm not really certain if those filters are actually gonna protect her from things like lymphoma," Ashley said, expressing concern about local water contaminants and perceived increases in cancer.
City staff responded with a procedural update. "We've been in good dialogue with the state of Minnesota. They've accepted the city's plan of action to continue working on remediation for the gross alpha issue," Mr. Martin said, and staff said the city will include an update in a quarterly newsletter to residents within the next week. The newsletter will also include the city's annual water-quality report as required by state law.
Several residents said a treatment plant, updated wellhead protection plan or other formal measures may take longer than a year; Kathy Pritchard asked the council to press for faster progress. "I don't think we're gonna be able to get a water treatment facility put in in a year," Pritchard said, asking the city to accelerate planning and implementation.
What’s next: staff said they will continue coordination with state regulators, post a newsletter update with progress on gross alpha remediation and return to the council as the work proceeds. Residents requesting near-term measures, such as a targeted filter-distribution program for households with infants, said they expect to be advised of any implementation plans and cost estimates.
