By Lori EhdeRock County Rural Water users can rest easy knowing the water their families are drinking is healthy."Our water quality is steadily improving," said Dan Cook, director of Rock County’s Rural Water system. In a Wellhead Protection Plan required by the Minnesota Department of Health, RCRW recently wrapped up a study of its drinking water sources.Since 1997, Rural Water and the Rock County Land Management Office have observed water draining into the drinking water supply management area several miles south of Luverne.Roughly 100 residents and landowners — including five small feedlot operators — live on Rock River and its tributaries. The primary area of concern is the 4,604-acre wellfield south of Luverne.Rural Water staff tested tributaries draining into the area for contaminants, such as chemicals and nitrates.The good news is they didn’t find levels that the Department of Health would consider a threat. That means, in essence, the first goal of the Wellhead Protection Plan — to maintain or achieve quality groundwater — is already done."We’ve really already achieved that goal," Cook said, "and we’re looking to send that message to everyone else in the county … that everything’s in order."This peace of mind is important in an area that gets its drinking water from shallow aquifers that are vulnerable to contamination.Cook said those water sources weren’t always in such good shape. It’s taken years of education and better farming practices to clean up the water draining into Rock County’s drinking water."There was a time when people thought if it’s good to put 10 pounds of nitrogen per acre, then it must be better to do 30 parts per acre, and we’ll get a heck of a crop," Cook said."In the past 10 years, we’ve seen some significant cleanup of our ground water."He attributed that success to the Rock County Land Management Office and its work with local feedlot operators and crop producers.Most all hog and cattle feedlots are operating within specifications of local ordinances and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency laws.Also, crop farmers are finding that practices that help the environment, such as no-till or low-tilling, contour farming and waterways, also help their long-term profits.By preventing water contaminants while at the same time instilling practices that helps to clean ground water before it filters to drinking water, Rock County’s drinking water sources are safer than ever.With the Department of Health’s Wellhead Protection Plan complete, the next step, Cook said is to continue monitoring water quality and preventing future contamination.For example, he said it’s common practice for Rural Water staff to test tributaries following a rain to check ground water for contaminants.If a particular tributary immediately downstream from a hog operation tests high for pollutants, that feedlot owner can be immediately notified so the contamination can be stopped.Much of this continuing Wellhead Protection work involves educating and getting the public involved.Assistant Land Management Director Doug Bos worked on Rock County’s feedlot plan, and is also involved with the Wellhead Protection Plan.He said establishing safe drinking water for area residents has been the driving force behind both projects."In Rock County, our well-fields are somewhat shallow, and they’re located only 40 to 70 feet below the ground surface, which is not a whole lot of soil to provide filtering for ground water," Bos said.In addition, he said there are sandy spots in the county which make the well-fields particularly vulnerable to contamination, because sandy soils allow water to run through more quickly, with less filtering heavier soils. The cleaning process isn’t as thorough."It’s a learning process and educational process for all agricultural producers and residents in these well-head protection areas," Bos said. "What they do can directly affect these aquifers."
