IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER

Updated March 23, 2023

Latest tests for radium show mixed results. After elevated levels of radium were detected and reported in City of Inver Grove Heights drinking water earlier this year, the City has been engaged in more frequent testing of water samples. The City’s latest tests of water at the Inver Grove Heights Water Treatment Plant show mixed results in lowering radium levels. Water samples drawn January 23, 2023, and sent to UC Laboratories in Janesville, Minnesota, yielded a reading of 4.5 picoCuries per Liter (pCi/L), which is lower than previous readings and below the 5.4 pCi/L maximum contaminant level allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

However, water samples drawn February 9, 2023, by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) yielded a reading of 6.0 pCi/L. This newer MDH reading echoes a previous individual test result from October 2022, which yielded a reading of 5.7 pCi/L, but which also triggered a notification by MDH, because the City’s rolling quarterly average radium reading reached 6.0 pCi/L at that time. 

City staff are working with representatives of the MDH to better understand the difference between MDH and UC Laboratory results and run additional tests if needed. With this in mind, new water samples were drawn on March 22, 2023, and sent to both the MDH and to UC Laboratories. Results of these tests are expected in six to eight weeks and will be reported on this webpage. The City is also taking the necessary steps to design, collect bids for and implement a filter replacement project and other associated improvements at the water treatment plant to address the issue of radium removal on a long-term basis. 

City water remains safe to drink, unless you have been otherwise advised by a medical provider based on your individual health status. For more answers to frequently asked questions regarding radium in drinking water, click here. 

Posted February 28, 2023

Click here to watch a video archive of the February 28 Community Meeting on Water Quality in IGH.

Posted February 15, 2023

On January 30, 2023, the City was informed by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that the most recent test samples, taken on October 10, 2022, show that the level of combined radium—types 226 and 228—at the Inver Grove Heights Water Treatment Plant was 6.0 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L). This result is above the allowable drinking water standard for radium, or Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), of 5.4 pCi/L. 

• Read the notice from the City to IGH residents
• Lee el aviso de aqua in Español
• Read the notice from the MDH to the City
• Read a message from IGH Public Works Director Brian Connolly