Pennock Protects Source Water through Well-sealing

Stories from the source

The city of Pennock is a small public water system that supports less than 500 people and utilizes two municipal wells to supply drinking water to its customers. The city of Pennock has been actively engaged in source water protection planning and implementation since 2005.

Locating and sealing unused wells were identified as priorities in Pennock's wellhead protection plan, the plan to protect the drinking water source. Through combined efforts by Pennock, MDH, and MRWA staff, a former municipal well was located near city hall that could be a risk for contaminants to directly enter the groundwater aquifer, posing a risk to the city’s drinking water supply. In the summer of 2017, with the assistance of MDH Well Management staff Bob Nielsen, a scan of the property was conducted, which confirmed that there was a metal well casing underground.

In the spring of 2022, the Pennock City Council decided to move ahead with the follow-up well-locating project. City staff were authorized to apply for a Source Water Protection Implementation Grant to investigate the previously identified well site via excavation and follow up with necessary well sealing preparation work. The Implementation Grant application was completed with the assistance of MRWA staff, resulting in the city being awarded $6,000. To finish the well sealing project, city staff again worked with MRWA staff to apply for both Implementation and Competitive Grants, leading to a total award of $18,000 to assist with the total project cost. Without the opportunity provided by the Source Water Protection Grants, made possible by the Clean Water Fund, the city would likely not have been able to gather the support or resources necessary to seal the well.

In April 2023, the successful sealing of the former Pennock municipal well was completed. Through allocating staff time and matching grant funds for the old municipal well investigation and sealing, the city of Pennock eliminated the potential risk of contamination to the aquifer to ensure safe drinking water for their residents.

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