Safe Drinking Water Fee

Also known as the public water supply fee

When customers receive their water bill from their water supplier, they may notice that one of the items in the list of charges is "water testing fee" or "state test fee." The fee is $9.72 per year per service connection served by the water supplier, as set by the Minnesota Legislature in 2019. This fee is called the Safe Drinking Water Fee. It is also known as the public water supply fee or service connection fee.

How the fee protects drinking water statewide

The fee funds Minnesota Department of Health's (MDH) regulatory and technical assistance services for public drinking water systems. Our staff across the state build relationships with drinking water operators that result in extensive knowledge, trust, and a willingness to take action to prevent a violation of the safe drinking water standards. This cost-effective assistance results in over 98% compliance with federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) standards year after year.

Annually, $12 million is collected through the fee. About $2 million is spent on lab costs for drinking water tests. Much of the rest is used to support staff who conduct inspections, collect and analyze required water samples, and provide technical assistance, training, and support to enhance water systems’ capacity to meet SDWA requirements. For more budgetary information, visit How the Safe Drinking Water Fee Supports Drinking Water Protection Efforts (PDF).

MDH services are especially helpful to small, rural water systems, which have more difficulty meeting water standards. Because of smaller customer bases, these systems have fewer resources for testing, investigations, and physical improvements.

This work helps ensure that everyone, everywhere in Minnesota has access to safe and sufficient drinking water.

Investing in technical support for drinking water safety

A fee increase has been proposed to the Minnesota Legislature. This fee increase accounts for:

• Significant inflationary pressures.
• Increased lab costs for drinking water testing.
• Projected deep reductions in federal funding.
• Numerous SDWA changes that have occurred and are on the horizon.

While federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has enabled increased capacity and technical support to be provided to public water systems, this funding is set to expire.  With no future funding to replace the expiring funds, there is uncertainty about potential impacts to the MDH Drinking Water Protection program. 

In addition, there are increased expectations and expansions of SDWA requirements for drinking water. These include regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), cybersecurity requirements, enhanced lead and copper regulations, increased consumer reporting, increased regulation of microbial and disinfection by products, and increased oversight of public water system operation and maintenance. The new and expanding regulations necessitate additional staffing to administer new federal rules, to conduct sampling and inspections at public water systems, and provide technical assistance, particularly to smaller systems that have fewer resources. 

How the fee is collected

Each community water supply owned or operated by a city, town or water user district tells MDH the number of service connections they serve. MDH generates a quarterly invoice for that number of connections (Laws of Minnesota 1992, Chapter 513, Article 6, Section 2). The water system collects the fee from each connection served and passes the funds on to MDH. 

The amount on a particular customer's bill depends on whether the water supplier divides the fee out by month ($0.81) or quarter ($2.43) or charges it all at once ($9.72). 

History of the fee

MDH ensures that public water systems meet the requirements of the federal SDWA. In 1986, the SDWA required testing for 23 drinking water contaminants. By 1992, this number had increased to 83. There were no federal funds available to help with the increased costs for this additional testing. To help cover the new costs, the 1992 Minnesota Legislature authorized MDH to assess a fee to community water systems. The fee was $5.21 per year per connection.

Over time, the number of tested contaminants increased to 118. They now include microbes, lead, pesticides, industrial chemicals, heavy metals, and radionuclides. To account for these additions, the fee per service connection was increased to $6.36 in 2005.

Between 2005 and 2019, costs increased 28% due to inflation alone. Minnesota also faced added costs from addressing new threats to drinking water, like pharmaceuticals and harmful algal blooms. To address these costs, the Minnesota Legislature increased the fee to $9.72 in 2019. This increase went into effect January 1, 2020 (Minnesota Statutes 2019, Chapter 144, 144.3831).