With a ceremonial groundbreaking on Thursday afternoon, the city of Woodbury began construction of its $330 million water treatment plant to scrub city water of PFAS chemicals.
It’s the city’s largest capital improvement project ever, and the plant when completed and turned on in 2028 will be the largest of its kind in Minnesota, capable of cleaning 32 million gallons of water daily.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that we provide clean drinking water to our community for now and for generations to come,” Mayor Anne Burt said, speaking to a group of city staff, elected officials, and others at the M Health Fairview Sports Center fieldhouse, where officials gathered for a ceremony and speeches after the nearby groundbreaking.
The new plant will be located at Hargis Parkway east of Radio Drive, adjacent to East Ridge High School.
The city expects to pay roughly 10% of the plant’s cost, said Jim Westerman, assistant public works director. The remainder will be covered by the $850 million settlement 3M reached with the state of Minnesota in 2018 for the contamination of groundwater under the east metro.
Originally estimated to cost up to $400 million, the plant’s total cost came in lower due to competitive bidding, Westerman said.
A temporary treatment plant opened in 2020 continues to scrub groundwater at nine city wells that have levels of PFAS above state health department guidelines. Once the new plant comes online, the temporary plant will be shuttered and its equipment either moved to the new plant or auctioned off, Westerman said.
