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Report says city of Blaine pumped nearly 50 private wells dry
The Minnesota DNR says the agency and the city of Blaine will work with impacted well owners on a settlement.
BLAINE, Minn. — An investigation by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) found the city of Blaine is responsible for “interfering” with dozens of private wells during the drought-ridden summer of 2022, causing them to go dry.
In a news release announcing the findings, the DNR explained that well interference occurs when a pump draws groundwater from a well (typically a deep well of a higher volume water user, like a city), causing water levels in the surrounding aquifer to go down. The result is a lack of water available to shallower wells, such as those owned by a private homeowner.
The DNR investigation revealed that 50 complaints were filed during the summer of 2022 by private well owners stating that their water supplies had been tapped out. Of those complaints, 47 were sustained. Investigators learned at the time residents began reporting problems, three of the wells the city of Blaine was operating were unpermitted. The city stopped pumping from those three wells after the DNR informed them that the wells were not authorized for use.
Irrigation wells operated by two local golf courses were also found to be minor contributors to interference with one private well.
Bruce Zakseski, who lives in southern Ham Lake near the border with Blaine, did not personally lose water from his private his well last summer. However, he said he knows plenty of people who did.
“Three of my neighbors, they basically ran out of water. Couldn’t wash clothes, run the sprinklers, nothing. Their yards basically dried up until they could get someone to come out and fix it,” Zakseski said. “Everybody you talked to, it was, ‘Did you have problems with your water? Did you have problems with your well?'”
DNR experts say groundwater aquifers in the Blaine and Ham Lake area are strongly interconnected. Pumping large volumes of water from one part of the aquifer can cause water levels to drop several miles away.
“Like many growing communities, the city of Blaine has been seeking to expand water supply sources to meet the increased water demands of its community,” said DNR Conservation Assistance and Regulation Section Manager Randall Doneen. “Expansion of water supplies is difficult and complex, especially when a growing community has many neighboring private domestic wells.”
“The city has been anticipating the completion of this DNR investigation and is ready to continue to work with private well owners to mitigate impacts that are determined to be related to the city’s growing water infrastructure,” said Blaine city spokesperson Ben Hayle. “Blaine is committed to responsibly providing high-quality water service to our growing municipal customer base while also protecting private well owners.”
Dan Schluender, the director of engineering for the city of Blaine, told KARE 11 in an interview that miscommunication in the permitting process led the city to temporarily operate three unpermitted wells.
According to Schluender, when the city began developing a new well field in 2017, the city thought it applied for a permit covering four wells.
“As it turns out, only one of those four wells was listed on the appropriations permit,” Schluender said. “So, the city inadvertently starting using the four wells and then interference complaints started to come in. The DNR and the city had discussions that, ‘yes, in fact the wells were on.’ They asked us to shut those wells off, as they were not listed in the permit, and the city complied with that. And they’ve been off since that notification.”
Going forward, the next step is to begin a well interference settlement process. Over the next 30 days, the DNR will assist the city of Blaine, the two golf courses involved and the private well owners in negotiating financial settlements for the cost of restoring residential water supplies.
“The message is, the city is going to do the right thing,” Schluender said. “We know there was interference. We know why there was interference.”
An additional 24 complaints remain under investigation by the DNR. The agency is encouraging anyone who owns a private well in the Blaine/Ham Lake area and has had water supply problems they believe are due to high-capacity pumping to call 651-259-5034.
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Rescue! – A chase, a crash and martial arts store workers race to save mother and babies in Fenton.
Employees of a Fenton martial arts school ran to the aid of a mother and her babies after the rollover crash. They said their training helped them rescue the family.
FENTON, Mo. — Employees at a martial arts business in Fenton rushed to save a mother and her twin eight-month-old babies after their vehicle was struck during a police pursuit involving federal officers on Interstate 44 in Fenton.
Surveillance video captured the moment a car being pursued by the DEA and Homeland Security struck the woman’s car on Wednesday.
Those who helped rescue them said it was a miracle they walked away alive.
The woman’s car flipped multiple times from the interstate, over the fence, and onto South Highway Drive before it landed in front of Xtreme Krav Maga & Fitness in Fenton.
“All of a sudden, I heard a car crash, screeching noise, and my fellow employee, Lindsay, was here at the front counter, and she said, ‘Oh, that’s not good,'” said Dustin Pluth, a manager at the business.
Within seconds, Pluth sprang into action, running outside to the car.
“It was just kind of an instinct thing. Once I saw the car rolling, coming to a halt, and running up to it, I found a mom and two babies inside,” he said.
Pluth cut the mom’s seatbelt off to get her out and pulled her twin babies out of the sunroof. Then another employee, Lindsay Cross, comforted the mom while walking them inside to get warm.
“She was very terrified of just being in a car wreck number one, not knowing what was going on. She didn’t know what the outcome was, and then she was obviously worried about her kids,” Pluth said.
The business offers self-defense and martial arts classes, as well as medical training and trauma-one classes, which teach people how to become first responders.
Pluth said it’s training that helped them rescue the family.
“Luckily, the good people in this scenario had a few scratches on them, but it could’ve been a worse Christmas. And as a dad, kids being injured is the worst fear ever,” he said.
Of all places for a car accident to end, Pluth said it was the best result of a bad situation.
“She got handled and cared for, and the babies were cared for probably as quickly as we possibly could do. It’s definitely a Christmas miracle that it happened here, and they came as unscathed as possible,” Pluth said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said several suspects were taken into custody following the federal police pursuit.
Pluth said the mom was a little banged up, but thankfully, they’re all doing well.
Tracie Munce, owner of Merlin’s Rest, joined KARE 11 Saturday to discuss the upcoming singalong and share a dish.
MINNEAPOLIS — A neighborhood bar in south Minneapolis is sharing a popular recipe and announcing the return of a favorite holiday tradition.
Merlin’s Rest, which has been in the Longfellow neighborhood for nearly two decades, will host its annual pub carol singalong on Sunday, Dec. 22·from 2 to 4 p.m.
Merlin’s not only has the most extensive selection of single malt Scotch and Irish whiskey in the state, but it also serves award-winning pub classics like bangers and mash and authentic fish and chips.
Owner Tracie Munce joined KARE 11 Saturday to discuss the upcoming singalong and share a dish.
Recipe: Beef Wellington
- 3lb ribeye roast
- ¾ cups Beef Stock
- Steak seasoning
- 1 ¼ lb crimini mushroom
- ½ shallots
- ¼ onion
- 4 Tbls garlic
- 1 long stalks of rosemary
- 1 TBS bisto gravy mix mixed with 1 TBS cold water
- 1 cups water mixed with 1TBS beef base and 1 TBS garlic base
- 8oz of sliced and diced thinly Ham
- Puff pastry sheets
Coat thawed ribeye with oil and sprinkle steak seasoning all over the roast, cook each side for about 5-8 minutes then transfer to a roaster with about 1-2 cups of beef stock, fat side up. Cover with aluminum foil and roast at 350 degrees for 2 hours – remove from the roaster and let rest – save the juice for gravy.
Clean and quarter mushrooms and place into a food processor, pulse into a small dice. Rough chop shallot and add into the mushroom, pulse a few more times.
Remove rosemary leaves from stem & rough chop, combine with mushrooms and shallots
In a large skillet add 1 Tbs butter and add the mushroom mixture, cook on medium-high heat until all the water has evaporated, about 15 minutes, put in a large bowl
Cube beef, take off fat, and add to the mushroom bowl
Thin, long slices of ham then chop and to beef and mushroom mixture. Salt and Pepper (about 1TBS of each) and combine
Dice onion and garlic and sauté in 1TBS butter until just browning, add juice from roasting the ribeye and about 1 cup of Beef stock. Let boil then add slowly the bisto slurry to thicken. Add a small amount of gravy mixture to the beef mixture to moisten – do not need much gravy.
Cut pastry into large squares and place into jumbo muffin tin. Add ½ cup of meat & mushroom mixture and pull puff over top of meat, pinching to seal everything in. Brush top with egg, and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for 25-30 mins at 350
Add your side of choice with Wellington pie and a side of gravy.
Jamie Preuss from So Happy You Liked It joined KARE 11 Saturday to demonstrate how to DIY a hot buttered rum mix and homemade Irish cream.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — There might not be anything more heartfelt at the holidays, than homemade gifts. While cookies might be your go-to… how about mixing things up, with a homemade drink mix?
Jamie Preuss from So Happy You Liked It joined KARE 11 Saturday to demonstrate how to DIY a hot buttered rum mix and homemade Irish cream.
Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 oz dark rum
- 6-8 oz hot water
Using a hand mixer, combine all ingredients except ice cream.
Once combined, add softened ice cream, and blend to thoroughly mix in.
Freeze the mixture for at least 2 hours.
In a mug, combine hot water, rum, and 1 heaping spoonful of mixture. Stir to dissolve.
Recipe: Homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 2 T cocoa powder
- 2 t instant espresso
- 1 t vanilla
- 1 t almond
- 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup cream
- 1 1/2 cup Irish whiskey, optional
Mix cocoa and espresso powder with 2 tablespoons of hot water and mix to combine.
Add all ingredients except the cream to a blender (including whiskey if you are using it), and blend to fully combine.
Add the cream to the blender and pulse to combine. Don’t blend
too long because this will start to aerate the cream and make the drink super thick!
Transfer to 1 large or several smaller flip-top glass jars. Give them as gifts or keep them for yourself!
The mix will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
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