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. . <br />City of ORONO <br />RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL <br />NO. _20_9_8 ____ _ <br />e City Engineer contacted Roman ~anavetskj, Minfiesota <br />Geological Survey, Gil Gabanski, Twin City Testing &nd M. <br />Schoenberg, U.S. Geolo~ical survey regarding concern for the <br />depletion of the Prairie Du Chein/Jordan acquifer by random <br />application of geothermal heating/cooling systems. Their <br />comments were summarized by Mike Lynch as follows; <br />"These experts indicate that one home pumping an average of <br />30 gpm of flow from the Prairie Du Chein/Jordan acquifer or <br />even 100 such homes will have essentially no effect upon the <br />acquifer. There is some c~ncern amongst experts and <br />regulating agencies that a concentration of "big uners" may <br />be causing a fluctuation of the groundwater level within the <br />acquifer. One such example is the City of St. Paul water <br />system. This system has caused a noticeable fluctuation in <br />the level of the acquifer due to an immense quantity of <br />groundwater with1rawal from a relatively srngll area. On the <br />otber hand, Townsquare in St. Paul has c::1 geothermal system <br />that pumps at a rate of 1200 9pm without regional depletion <br />of the acquif~~-The usago of the acquifer is currently <br />being regulaten by the DNR and the Health Department4 <br />The popularity of geothermal heating systems for residential <br />propertjes has been dying out the past couple of years as <br />there is no longer an energy credit for their. use and the <br />placement of such a system is generally not cost··effective. <br />13. The discharge pipe for the geothermal system will enter the <br />lake within a protected lagoon area below the lake level at~ <br />924.6 elevation. <br />14. 'l'here will b~ no navigational hazards created for the user~ <br />of Lake Minnetonka because the discharge pipe wi 11 not extend <br />into the main lake area. <br />15. Neither the vel~city of the discharge nor the temperature of <br />water discharged will hip,a any de-icing effect on the main lake. <br />16. Ttt3 proposed geothermal system is defined as a closed·systein <br />requiring no additives, conditioners or other chemicals. The <br />quality of the water to be discharged into the lake will not pose <br />a pollution hazard. <br />17. Dr. Richard Hanson of t.he Fresh Water Biological Institut~ <br />has voiced rnajor concern with the uncontrolled, intense, multiple <br />uses of our groundwater :r:P.serves and strongly recommends that a <br />national policy he formulated providing standa~ds for groundwater <br />uses to assure that we are not creating an irrt"versible crisis. <br />In hi)J letter of Septe11ber 15, 1986. he ravted that he "found it <br />difficult for one city to hav~ a major impact on this issue•. <br />Page 3 of 6