Dozens of Lake Elmo residents want the city to pay for bottled water as they wait for the state to test their private wells for PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says harmful levels of PFAS have been found in nearly two dozen water systems in 17 cities—and they’re on the move.

“There’s been no correspondence, no public meeting, and no communication to the residents by the city, the [Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)], of the [Minnesota] Department of Health regarding these changes,” Tom Seifert of Lake Elmo said to city council members during Tuesday’s meeting. 

Those changes Seifert mentioned are the expected path of PFAS in the coming decades that the MPCA shared in April and the Environmental Protection Agency finalizing new, stricter standards for the maximum amount of PFAS allowed in drinking water. 

Seifert did say he made contact with the state surrounding test, but he did not appreciate their response. 

“They’ve advised, ‘Be patient’, because they cannot estimate when testing will be done,” Seifert said.

He and around 40 other neighbors are now demanding the city provide free bottled water as they wait for their wells to be tested. 

“We need to do something, and we need to act quickly,” Lake Elmo resident Debbie Dean said to the council.

“I don’t want to drink my water,” Dean added. “I’m sure if I brought you a picture of my water and gave it to all of you, you probably would hesitate to drink it.”

In a statement, after being asked by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS if it has plans to speed up testing, the MPCA sent the following statement:

“The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is committed to ensuring safe drinking water to all Minnesotans. In 14 communities, in the East Metro, there are between 7,000 and 8,000 private drinking water wells. The MPCA collects samples as residents request us to gather them, and to date, we have sampled about half of the private wells in all of the East Metro. People can request sampling using our online form.”

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

“The city has already reached out to the MPCA to raise these concerns,” Lake Elmo City Council Member Jeff Holtz said.

He shares similar concerns with residents and says they have his support. 

“The capacity of industry right now is not where any of us want [it] to be,” Holtz said about state testing abilities.  

To help with clarity and to get everyone on the same page, he said there are plans in the works for a town hall. 

“Experts from multiple state agencies, where we have staff from the city level, where we have residents with very valid concerns, where we can address those questions as best as possible and come up with a game plan,” Holtz said.