by Frieda M. von Qualen, MDP, MDH
Minnesota has an outstanding record of providing safe and sufficient drinking water for customers on public water systems. Yet, there are risks and gaps to address, including limited protections for private well users, a shrinking drinking water workforce, as well as emerging risks from contaminants, pathogens and climate change. The first-ever Minnesota Drinking Water Action Plan (released in October 2025) proposes strategies to address risks and gaps so that everyone, everywhere in Minnesota can be confident their drinking water is safe to drink.
A few actions related to groundwater are below. Many more are named in the plan.
- Develop Groundwater Restoration and Protection Strategies reports for all 60 One Watershed One Plan boundaries by 2034.
- Identify where private wells are in Minnesota.
- Modernize and adapt current groundwater databases (County Well Index and Minnesota Well Index application) to improve access to foundational groundwater data.
Check out the Plan at Future of Drinking Water. Please share the Plan with your networks. If you have questions, reach out to the Water Policy Center at waterpolicy.mdh@state.mn.us. At the recommendation of the Clean Water Council, the Minnesota Legislature directed Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to coordinate the development of this plan, using Clean Water Fund dollars. MDH coordinated with state agencies, water resource professionals, and gathered public input to develop the 10-year action plan.
MGWA is committed to developing a just, equitable, and inclusive groundwater community. Click on the button below to read MGWA’s full diversity statement.
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