Water Conservation
The Water Conservation Tool Box was developed by the City of Ramsey's Environmental Policy Board.
Introduction
Ramsey is located on the Anoka Sand Plain and, as the name implies, is dominated by mostly sandy soils. Sandy soils have low water holding capacity, so water used to irrigate yards moves through soil and out of the root zone area quickly. Summer lawn watering in Ramsey almost triples water use to over 5 million gallons per day, which has contributed to Ramsey being identified as one of the largest users of non-consumptive water in the metro.
As Ramsey's population continues to grow, the demand for water will also grow. Ramsey's population is forecasted to increase by roughly 12,000 people by the year 2020, putting tremendous pressure on the groundwater supply, or aquifer. As demand for water contiues to rise, the aquifer, our current source of drinking water, will be depleted more and more. While groundwater is replenished by precipitation, activities such as pumping (wells), increasing impervious surfaces (roads, rooftops, driveways, etc.), and climatic changes alter recharge rates, and potentially diminish the recharge of aquifers.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3002/pdf/FS2007-3002_web.pdf
Groundwater provides a source of drinking water and also maintains stream flow, lake levels and wetlands. Searching for and identifying ways to maintain and replenish groundwater supplies are extremely important. As the demand for water grows, Ramsey will start looking at alternative water supply sources and may need to explore using water from teh Mississippi River for its domestic water supply. Click on the following link to go to the Minnesota DNR website for more groundwater information: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/groundwater/index.html
The following are links to the content of this tool box:
Minnesota State Statute §471.701 Salary Data: A city or county with a population of more than 15,000 must annually notify its residents of the positions and base salaries of its three highest-paid employees. This notice may be provided on the home page of the primary website maintained by the political subdivision for a period of not less than 90 consecutive days, in a publication of the political subdivision that is distributed to all residents in the political subdivision, or as part of the annual notice of proposed property taxes prepared under section 275.065. City Administrator $127,308; Police Chief $103,948; Finance Director $102,683