When the level of White Bear Lake dropped so low that docks didn’t reach the water, few Stillwater residents had any idea that the DNR would be ordered to restrict their use of water to help replenish the lake. But on August 30, 2017, Ramsey County Judge Margaret Marrinan ordered that
the DNR, through the use of Water Appropriation Permits issued to Cities, begin restricting municipal water use from any municipal well located within a 5-mile radius of White Bear Lake. According to TKDA Engineer Matt Ellingson, who represents the Stillwater Water Board, Stillwater’s Well 11 – the city’s western-most well – resides approximately 4.99 miles from White Bear Lake. The Stillwater Board of Water Commissioners, which oversees the Water Board, contends that recent studies conducted by TKDA indicate Stillwater Well 11 pumps water from an aquifer plume that flows east toward the St. Croix River, not west toward White Bear Lake, and thus should not be included in the
White Bear Lake ruling. Continue Reading →