Tim Stoner addresses Riverside Heights residents.

Questions about a potential annexation between the Township of Blue Earth City and the city of Blue Earth have lead to several informational meetings, the latest of which took place on Wednesday, March 29, at 4 p.m.

Riverside Heights residents were invited to a meeting with the Blue Earth Light and Water (BELW) Board to learn about how the municipal utility’s water service would be implemented in Riverside Heights were the area to be annexed to the city of Blue Earth.

The issue had come up at a special Blue Earth City Council meeting on Thursday, March 16, which was scheduled to address Riverside Heights residents’ questions about the potential annexation.

The annexation has been under consideration for decades, originating with a 1977 agreement between the Township of Blue Earth City and the city of Blue Earth.

The agreement concerns a sweep of territory which would expand Blue Earth’s city limits west, to the edge of the Blue Earth River, and north to meet the portion of the gravel road which runs between Kibble Equipment and Riverside Heights.

The City Council revisited the possibility of annexing the area upon learning that Riverside Heights is in dire need of a new sanitary sewer system. The annexation would allow Riverside Heights to connect to Blue Earth’s sanitary sewer system, rather than going to the expense of constructing their own new system.

On March 16, the council answered Riverside Heights residents’ questions about what the sanitary sewer improvement project would entail and explained the project’s potential eligibility for grant funding.

The City Council also clarified that following the annexation, Riverside Heights residents’ tax increases would be phased in slowly over a period of five years.

However, the City Council was unable to answer residents’ questions about capping private wells, as that process falls under the jurisdiction of BELW.

At the meeting held on March 29, BELW manager Tim Stoner explained why BELW’s policy is typically to cap private wells.

“Blue Earth Light and Water has a responsibility to ensure that we are protecting our system,” Stoner explained, citing the potential for cross-contamination between private wells and the city’s water system as BELW’s primary concern. “All it would take is one person, one situation, and we’re putting that risk to the entire system.”

He added, “I do understand the value of having your own well, but when you’re within the city limits, the protection of everybody is more important.” 

City engineer Wes Brown also shared several considerations which he felt were relevant to Riverside Heights residents.

He observed that many of the private wells in Riverside Heights are past their 40-year life expectancy, and connecting to the city’s water supply would eliminate the future cost of well maintenance and repairs.

Additionally, Brown noted that if residents connect to city water and cap their wells now, the cost will be covered through the upcoming sanitary sewer improvement project.

If residents wait to cap their wells, the cost - which could be as high as $10,000 – would be the responsibility of the homeowner.

Finally, Brown said planned improvements to BELW’s existing Drinking Water Treatment Facility, including the addition of a centralized reverse osmosis (RO) softening system, will soon improve the city’s water quality.

The system will significantly reduce the treated water hardness and minimize the community’s need for point-of-use ion-exchange water softeners and associated salt usage, effectively reducing the amount of salt discharged to Blue Earth’s Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Stoner said that BELW has factored the project into its planned rate increases over the next few years so residents will not experience sticker shock when the project – estimated to begin in 2024 – gets underway. A gradual 10 percent annual increase in water rates from 2020 through 2024 is being implemented.

At the end of the meeting, Stoner encouraged Riverside Heights residents to contact BELW with any additional questions about the water system.

“This is a fairly exceptional deal for the most part,” Stoner concluded. “We’re here to make it as easy as possible.”