Olmsted Soil and Water Conservation District receives $240,000 for Oronoco private well sealing

On December 14, 2023, the Olmsted Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) learned it was being awarded $240,000 in the form of a Clean Water Fund (CWF) grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). This grant money will be directed to private well sealing in Oronoco as residents transition to a municipal drinking water supply. 

The City of Oronoco has been working for decades to protect its groundwater and drinking water supply by securing funding for community wastewater and municipal water systems to serve the community. The water distribution system will now expand to areas not previously served by the water system. The expansion will serve 129 additional lots with municipal water. 

To transition Oronoco residents to a safer and more dependable water supply, approximately 75 wells within the Oronoco Drinking Water Supply Management Areas and sensitive groundwater vulnerability area will be sealed. The grant will provide funding to residents to assist with the cost of private well abandonment. 

The $240,000 was part of $10 million in CWF grants awarded by the BWSR to improve water quality in streams, lakes, and groundwater across the state. See the full BWSR news release.