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Water

Water shortages and problems around Minnesota — and the country — have many wondering what is the true cost of clean and reliable water. This reporting is supported in part by The Water Main, a project of American Public Media.

PolyMet mine hearing in Duluth draws large, passionate crowd

PolyMet mine hearing in Duluth draws large, passionate crowd

The first public hearing on what could be Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine drew some 1,300 people to Duluth on Thursday to rally for jobs, ask questions and poke holes in the 2,200-page environmental study that must pass muster before the project can go forward.
by Elizabeth Dunbar and Dan Kraker

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First PolyMet hearing tonight in Duluth, but do comments matter?

First PolyMet hearing tonight in Duluth, but do comments matter?

Department of Natural Resources officials said recently that they prefer substantive, technical comments on the environmental study rather than statements of support or opposition. So how important are the thousands of comments that have already been received?
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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An argument to charge more for water

A resident in Woodbury pays 88 cents for 1,000 gallons of water. If he or she uses a lot of water, say, for sprinkling the lawn, the price goes up — to $1.88, then $2.88, then $3.88 and so on, says Klayton Eckles, Woodbury’s public works director. • Beneath the Surface: Minnesota’s Pending Groundwater Challenge Read more →
by Dave Peters

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Meeting tonight for Park Rapids groundwater management area

Farmers, residents and others in the Park Rapids area are learning more tonight about a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources project to deal with, and possibly restrict, groundwater pumping.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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Is Minnesota prepared for a world where water scarcity is widespread?

Is Minnesota prepared for a world where water scarcity is widespread?

Jedediah Purdy writes in the New Yorker about the politics of “no ones job” and how it is seen in the response to the chemical leak in West Virginia’s Elk River. Last Thursday an estimated seventy-five hundred gallons of MCMH, “a chemical used to remove impurities from coal, ran into the Elk from a one-inch…
by Michael Olson

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How to avoid a national water crisis?

How to avoid a national water crisis?

Most Americans are spoiled when it comes to water, according to Robert Glennon. We open the tap and get as much water as we want and it costs us less per month than a cellphone. • Beneath the Surface: Minnesota’s Pending Groundwater Challenge Glennon, a professor of law and public policy at Arizona State University Read more →
by Dan Gunderson

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4 ways to use less polluting salt in cold weather

4 ways to use less polluting salt in cold weather

Warmer weather this week may be a good opportunity to help curb the salt running into our streams and lakes.
by Tim Nelson

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As east suburbs tighten groundwater use, Mpls wants to drill new wells

As east suburbs tighten groundwater use, Mpls wants to drill new wells

We’ve covered extensively the discussion happening in the north and east metro over concerns about the groundwater supply. Suburbs are trying to figure out how to use less water, and the Metropolitan Council has pushed the idea of getting more cities in the region to tap into surface water from the Mississippi River. Both Minneapolis Read more →
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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DNR’s Landwehr to locals on groundwater: ‘You figure it out.’

DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr launched his agency’s new approach to groundwater management in part of the Twin Cities Wednesday, stressing that local officials have an opportunity to make better decisions than the state can by itself.
by Dave Peters

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With White Bear as poster child, Minnesota tests new approach to limited water supplies

With White Bear as poster child, Minnesota tests new approach to limited water supplies

A new effort involving just about anyone who flushes a toilet from Lino Lakes to Woodbury is about to eclipse the scattered sprinkling limits and water-saving campaigns to rescue a shrinking White Bear Lake. And that could be just a first step in getting Minnesota residents, businesses and others to think differently about how they use water.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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