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Itasca County board authorizes application for Minnesota private well testing grant
Summary
Itasca County authorized Public Health July 14 to apply for an MDH Private Well Protection Grant to fund no-cost testing for at least 500–600 private well households, covering five contaminants; the MDH RFP lists July 17, 2026 as the application deadline.
The Itasca County Board voted July 14 to allow Public Health to apply for the Minnesota Department of Health’s Private Well Protection Grant, a Clean Water Fund program offering competitive awards to counties for outreach and no-cost well testing.
Naesa Myers presented the request and said the county would collaborate with community partners to provide testing for a minimum of 500–600 private well users, covering arsenic, coliform bacteria, lead, manganese and nitrate. The board approved the request 5–0; the motion recorded in the minutes read, "Approve Public Health to apply for the Private Well Protection Grant." Commissioner John Johnson moved the motion; Commissioner Casey Venema seconded.
The packet includes the MDH RFP: application deadline is Friday, July 17, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Central Time; estimated total funding is $3.5 million, with an estimated award maximum for a single county set at $406,035 and project dates listed as Aug. 15, 2026–May 1, 2029. MDH’s funding formula bases allocations on an estimated number of private wells in a county multiplied by $126 per well; the RFP emphasizes prioritizing households with infants or young children and low-income households.
County staff indicated tests typically cost about $126 each and that the grant would fund outreach, testing kits, lab analysis and technical assistance; the board did not set additional conditions. Staff will prepare the application to meet the MDH July 17 deadline.
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