The West Metro subregion spans a large area of the metro, stretching from the near western suburbs bordering Minneapolis and the communities around Lake Minnetonka to the more rural areas of western Hennepin and Carver counties. Water resource and supply system challenges exist in all communities and are as diverse as the areas the West subregion spans.
The majority of communities in western Hennepin and southern Carver counties do not have public water supply systems. In those communities, residents and businesses operate privately-owned wells to get their drinking water. In rural centers and denser, more suburban areas of the subregion, communities operate municipal community public water supply systems that utilize groundwater aquifers. Most communities with these municipal water supply systems have access to the Prairie du Chien and Jordan aquifers, but those sources dwindle as you move west through the subregion. Minneapolis provides surface water to some bordering suburban communities to serve specific neighborhoods or supplement local groundwater supplies
Core Team
These individuals helped to design and kick-off the initial approach to engagement in the West subregion in 2023/2024 during development of the draft Metro Area Water Supply plan. Once the plan is adopted in 2025, the core team will be updated to prepare for the next phase of engagement.