Blue Mounds State Park needs new water source after E. coli contamination

Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, Minn. expects to have no safe drinking water from its main well for at least the summer after E. coli bacteria contaminated the ground water source, Park Manager Chris Ingebretsen said.

The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday informed the park that E. coli remains in the water after the second testing, following a chlorination of the water system and pipes in an attempt to kill the bacteria.

That means the bacteria's source was not the water system, but rather the well and entire groundwater source, Ingebretsen said. The park needs to find a new water source, he said.

"It's not the result I expected to find," Ingebretsen said. "And it's going to be much harder to deal with obviously."

The main well provides water for the main campground of more than 70 camp sites, and the park's office. The smaller rustic campground and group camping site has its own well that is not contaminated.

"We're going to be making long-term choices probably later in the week as to how we're going to deal with camping for the rest of the summer," Ingebretsen said. "But for Memorial Day weekend, we'll be offering free gallon jugs of water and the discounted camping rate."

E. coli makes the water unsafe for drinking, washing dishes, and brushing teeth. Showering is safe as long as water is not ingested. Washing hands is also safe, as long as it is followed up by an antibacterial product, he said.

The park has notified campers of the problem, Ingebretsen said, and there were very few cancellations for this Memorial Day weekend.

"I can't guess what this will do for camping for the rest of the summer, although with showers being safe, provided that [the water] is not ingested, that's mainly what people want out of the park water system," he said. "I expect that most people will continue to camp here."

He said people were understanding of the problem.

"I know that the campers that we've spoken to have been very gracious for one thing, but also seem to be taking the steps to plan ahead and have water in their camper before they arrive, or are relying on the water that we're providing at the park office," Ingebretsen said.

The solution is not going to be easy, he said.

"We have very, very thick bedrock close to the surface, which makes the mound in the park and is the reason we have the state park, but it also makes drinking water options very, very hard to find," Ingebretsen said. "So it's going to take some time to connect to a new source unfortunately, and it's just going to be something we're going to need to work through."

Rock County Rural Water District is exploring a rural water system to connect to houses in the area, and that is a possible source for the park, he said.

"We'll also be looking into drilling a new well," Ingebretsen said.

A rural water connection would be costly, Ingebretsen said. "I don't know exact figures, but very expensive," he said. "With the bedrock though, a new well is quite a bit more expensive than it is for a typical homeowner. And also because it's a well that serves a large amount of public people, there's extra precautions that need to be taken on a new well. So either option is going to be very expensive."

The problem will not increase camping rates, and the park will work with the Minnesota State Parks and Trails central office to find funding options, he said.

After a water system is shut off in the fall and later turned back on, it is not unusual to find E. coli in a water system in the spring, Ingebretsen said. But it is surprising to find the entire water source contaminated.

"Having a bacterial contamination in a park water system, it's not common, but it's not unheard of either," he said. "Any time pipes are taken apart for draining, it opens the door for bacterial contamination and can happen. We follow MDH guidelines for decontamination and that does take care of the problem. So this is new for me."

The bacteria was discovered on May 12, and park staff treated it expecting the second testing to bring back clean results. Ingebretsen said he awaits official results in writing from the Minnesota Department of Health, but the unofficial results still require the park to start looking for an entirely new water source, he said.

"[Having to find] a new water source is a rarity," Ingebretsen said. "I've worked for Minnesota State Parks and Trails for 15 years, and I can't think of anything like this happening in a park before."