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5 <br />If you have lived in Lake Elmo, you may have encountered <br />Rick Gustafson, dedicated Lake Elmo Public Works <br />employee, plowing snow or mowing lawns over the years. <br />However, his tenure at Lake Elmo Public Works concludes <br />in February. <br />With an impressive 34 years of service to the city, he <br />began his career in landscaping and was hired to plow <br />snow when one of the Public Works employees got hurt, <br />Gustafson thought this was a part time job for the winters. <br />In 1991, the city administrator offered him a full-time <br />position, and he’s been taking care of Lake Elmo ever <br />since. <br />Gustafson’s favorite thing about Lake Elmo is the rural, <br />country feel. He says the biggest change he’s seen is, <br />“there’s more sewer and water!” <br />Gustafson says he has enjoyed working for the city and <br />after his retirement in February, he plans to travel to <br />Hawaii and Florida, and spend more time with family. <br />Rick Gustafson retires <br />2025 Lake Elmo Water Initiatives <br />PUBLIC WORKS <br />W E L L 2 I M A G E <br />As the City of Lake Elmo continues to strive to provide safe <br />and clean drinking water to all water customers, Lake Elmo <br />Public Works took Well #2 offline Thursday, February 6, <br />2025, to begin construction of its new water treatment <br />plant for PFAS removal. <br />In 2001, Well 2 was built to accommodate the growing <br />water needs of the City. This well, which draws its water <br />from the Prairie du Chien/Jordan aquifer, was initially <br />designed to pump 1,000 gallons per minute at full capacity. <br />Seeing PFAS levels increase in Well #2’s water during <br />2022, the city proactively put it on a limited use-only status <br />to meet summer irrigation demands even though its water <br />met all safety regulations at that time. The PFAS Maximum <br />Contaminant Level allowed in 2022 was 15 parts per <br />trillion, well #2’s water was sampled around 10 ppt. <br />In January of 2023, the EPA tightened regulations and <br />lowered the acceptable PFAS MCL to 4 parts per trillion. In <br />response, the City of Lake Elmo tightened irrigation <br />restrictions to ensure Well #2 would not be needed to meet <br />summer water demands. <br />Construction of Well #2’s water treatment plant will include <br />modifying the existing building by raising the roof of the <br />well house to install large water filters that will remove <br />PFAS from the drinking water. The MPCA is funding the <br />development and installation of filters for Well #2. Project <br />engineers estimate the work will be completed by mid-July. <br />Lake Elmo’s Wells #4 and #5 will meet current water <br />demands. Find 2025 irrigation restrictions at <br />www.lakeelmo.gov. <br />WELL 2 LOCATION AND DESIGN RENDERING