Concerns about Battle Creek Water Quality

Once again, we have made the news... Battle Creek is one of several local waterbodies that has shown negative affects from the salt solutions that Public Works and MnDOT apply to our roads to de-ice them. The increasing salt levels in Battle Creek have a negative impact on the plants and animals that live in the stream, but we may have other concerns. The salt is not washed out by the stream, and into the Mississippi River (which would be bad enough), but it tends to stay local.

Since there are homes in Highwood Hills that are on private wells, there is concern that the salt infiltrates into the ground water and releases heavy metals that normally would be bound up in the soil. The MPCA is investigating.

This is an issue we need to keep an eye on added to the perfluorochemical contamination from 3M's old landfills...

Minimize your own use of salt to clear ice - at least!!