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Utilities: Public Works divisions: Related links: |
A brief history of Bloomington's water systemFollowing World War II, demand for housing in the Twin Cities area caused a building boom in Bloomington, where a high water table and considerable open land made the community ideal for residential development. Because there was no municipal water or sewer service, each building was provided with its own well and septic system. The wells usually consisted of a length of pipe driven into the shallow aquifer about 12 or 15 feet below ground. The septic systems, positioned just above this, soon contaminated the aquifer and degraded water quality significantly. To address the problem, the City Council decided to create a municipal sanitary sewer and water supply infrastructure for the city. Water mains were laid in 1960 and the city began purchasing lime-softened water from the City of Minneapolis. Later in the decade, reservoirs were constructed to better accommodate the growing city's peak demands. By the early 1970s, water use projections indicated that within a few years the volume of water available from Minneapolis would not meet Bloomington's needs, and construction of our own water treatment plant became a necessity. The Sam H. Hobbs Water Treatment Plant (so named in 1982) began operation in 1974. In September 2000, the City of Bloomington began a two-year project to increase the capacity of its water treatment plant and the wellfield that supplies ground water to it. The project was completed in July 2002.
Above: The Water Treatment Plant before and after renovation. For more information, contact: Jon Eaton, Water Quality Supervisor
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