Dakota County Groundwater Plan 2019

Dakota County is updating its Groundwater Plan, a 10-year plan for protecting and improving the health, safety, and availability of the water supply.  Most people in the County – about 90% -- get their water from groundwater.  “Groundwater” is water that seeps below the surface from rain or snowmelt and is stored in porous rocks below.  Layers of groundwater – called aquifers -- can be tens of feet, or thousands of feet, underground.  “Surface water” refers to rivers, lakes, streams, and other bodies of water. 

Dakota County would like to know your thoughts about groundwater and how best to protect it.  We want to know more about what you would like the County to do.  Your answers to these questions will help us set priorities for current and future County activities.   

The survey is confidential and will take only a few minutes to complete, but we do ask some personal questions at the end of the survey.  We ask about children in your household because some water contaminants (like lead) are riskier for young children than for adults; other contaminants (like nitrate or manganese) are especially risky for infants.