Water Scarcity Looms Over Land Of 10,000 Lakes

Could the land of 10,000 lakes be running out of water? 

In a recent report, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS examined just how serious Minnesota's water problem is, and the results were not reassuring for residents of the state. Minnesota is struggling against various factors that have made its water increasingly hard to come by. 

One problem is the shifting population density in many towns. The town of Hugo, situated near St. Paul, is one example. 

"[Back] in 1969, 750 people lived in Hugo. Today, 14,000 call it home. Hay bales huddle in the shadows of housing developments. Each one brings more glasses to fill and lawns to water," the report said.

"Hugo has five municipal wells. All of them draw water from the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer—the same one linked to lower water levels on White Bear Lake, which plunged about four feet from 2005 to 2011," the report said. 

The problem extends beyond White Bear Lake. Pine Tree Lake, Mann Lake, Round Lake, Sunset Lake, and Oneka Lake have all dropped at least two feet over the same time span. 

"Most of those lake levels have at least partially recovered. But they show that the Twin Cities may be treading water," the report said. 

Public policy is also a factor exacerbating Minnesota's water challenges, according to Deb Swackhamer, a professor and water expert at the University of Minnesota. She said Minnesota cannot sustain itself under its current policies. 

Here's how water management has changed in Minnesota over the years: "Decades ago, most of that tap water came from lakes, rivers, and streams—the surface water Minnesotans know and love. In the 1950s, about 80 percent of the Twin Cities' drinking water came from such surface water resources. Today, more than 70 percent comes from groundwater, buried deep underground in aquifers. That is a dramatic, and hugely important, reversal," the report said. 

Another challenging factor is a general lack of awareness around water supply problems. "Our groundwater is completely invisible, so we don't think about that at all. We just turn on our tap and go, 'Oh great. We have great water here,'" Swackhamer said, per the report. 

Still another challenge Minnesota faces is a lack of sufficient rainfall. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly all of the state is experiencing abnormally dry weather. 

"Many regions in the state have reached the point where people are using water — and then sending it downstream — faster than the rain and snow can replenish it," the Star Tribune reported.