2/21/2023 - City Council - Work Session - Agendas
CITY OF SPRING PARK
WORK SESSION AGENDA
FEBRUARY 21, 2023 – 5:45 PM
SPRING PARK CITY HALL
(Work Session discussion times are approximate)
1. 5:45: City Emails
2. 5:55: Sunset Lake Access - Bollards
3. 6:10: TCE Water Update
4. 6:20: Miscellaneous
5. 6:30: Adjourn
City of Spring Park
4349 WARREN AVENUE, SPRING PARK, MINNESOTA 55384-9711 (952) 471-9051 FAX (952) 471-9160
WWW.CI.SPRING-PARK.MN.US
TCE Water Quality Announcement
To: Spring Park Residents
From: Mike Anderson, Administrator
Subject: February 2023 Update
This announcement is to inform residents of Spring Park that there has been a recent issue with the trichloroethylene
(TCE) in the Water provided by Spring Park. Years ago, there was a water treatment plant installed at City Hall to monitor
and filter out the TCE before it hit your homes. This past summer, test results have shown an increase in TCE levels that
are not yet in the emergency category, but in the “warning” category that has brought more awareness to our attention.
The City is taking the appropriate precautions and are doing more frequent testing to ensure this does not become a
problem for all residents. We are also brining in experts to look at our Water Treatment Plant to make sure everything is
operating to its full capacity. Below is some information that might be helpful:
Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
met with City staff and Public Works on February 15, 2023 to discuss information we want to share with you about
trichloroethylene (TCE) and the tests conducted on the Spring Park municipal water supply.
The Spring Park Municipal Well Field Site was added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)
Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in May 2018. It was added in order to investigate and address the
possible source(s) of the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) that contaminated groundwater in two out of three wells that
make up the city municipal water supply. TCE was first detected in the Spring Park municipal drinking water in 2004.
Although TCE concentrations in the finished drinking water never exceeded federal drinking water criteria of 5 µg/L
(micrograms per liter), the TCE detections became a concern in 2013 when the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
lowered its TCE health-based drinking water guidance value to 0.4 µg/L based on updated U.S. EPA toxicity information.
As a result of exceedances of the MDH health-based guidance value, a new water treatment plant was built and began
operating in 2017 to reduce TCE in drinking water and protect the health of Spring Park water users.
The source(s) of the TCE in the municipal wells is currently unknown. TCE is a common solvent that may have been used
at several manufacturing or commercial properties in Spring Park. U.S. EPA began its enforcement process once the site
was listed on the NPL to identify potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and plans to begin a Superfund-lead Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) in 2023. The goal of the RI/FS is to determine the nature, extent, and source(s) of
contamination, and to identify PRPs.
Spring Park residents and other users of the city water supply are exposed to small amounts of TCE from using the water
for drinking and cooking and by breathing TCE that evaporates from the water into the indoor air. Exposures to TCE in
the city water, both current and past, are not expected to harm people’s health.
City of Spring Park
4349 WARREN AVENUE, SPRING PARK, MINNESOTA 55384-9711 (952) 471-9051 FAX (952) 471-9160
WWW.CI.SPRING-PARK.MN.US
However, recent testing has shown higher than typical amounts of TCE (0.79 µg/L in November and 0.67 µg/L in
December 2022). These detections are above MDH’s health-based guidance value of 0.4 µg/L. While the amount of TCE
in the water is not expected to harm people’s health, when health-based values are exceeded, MDH recommends action is
taken to reduce exposures. Residents may choose to filter or use alternative water to reduce exposure to TCE, particularly
for infants or small children. More information on TCE and health can be found on the MDH website at TCE in Drinking
Water (state.mn.us).
MDH and the city of Spring Park are continuing to monitor TCE concentrations in drinking water. The city is
troubleshooting the maintenance of the water treatment system to optimize TCE removal.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at MAnderson@ci.spring-park.mn.us