Le Center Completes Well-Sealing Project to Protect Groundwater

Stories from the Source

The city of Le Center completed a long-term well-sealing project to protect the city’s deep aquifer from contamination. The city identified that a former municipal well was not sealed properly after it was taken out of use and posed a significant risk to the drinking water source. Sealing unused wells is an important component of source water protection (SWP), as an unused well can act like a drain, allowing surface water runoff, contaminated water, or improperly disposed waste a direct pathway into drinking water sources. Additionally, old municipal wells can pose an even greater risk due to their likely proximity to the modern public water system wells. Over five years, the city worked with numerous agencies to locate the site of the old 1923 municipal well, perform site investigations to confirm the well’s location, apply for several grants, and seal the well to the specifications of the Minnesota Well Code. 

Map of Old Le Center Wells Based on Historical Information

Minnesota Rural Water Association (MRWA) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) staff consulted with the city staff and the wellhead protection plan to identify and prioritize the issue of unused and unsealed municipal wells. The effort focused on identifying unsealed wells existing within proximity of the city wells currently being used to serve the utility customers. MDH Well Management staff also worked with the Le Center utility staff to pinpoint a site for an excavation investigation, and advised the city regarding the protocols for properly sealing the well after its location was identified. 

To fund the project, Le Center applied for a SWP Implementation Grant, made possible by the Clean Water Fund, in the spring of 2020.  Using the location determined by SWP staff, the suspected well site was excavated to uncover the well resting below the ground surface outside Le Center City Hall. The city applied for another SWP Competitive Grant in the fall of 2020 to extend the well casing above the ground surface and cap the well until they could gather information about how to seal the well and raise the necessary funds. 

Exposed Casing of East Well

The city then worked with Le Sueur County Environmental Services staff to apply for a Clean Water Fund Project and Practices Grant in 2022 to clean out and seal the well. The initial amount requested for this grant was just over $45,000.

After beginning the sealing project in the fall of 2023, debris were encountered near the bottom of the well. The debris included cabling and other remnants of previously used drilling equipment. The well contractor’s equipment was not suited for this task and the project was put on hold over the 2023/2024 winter. The additional cost of cleaning the debris from the well and procuring more advanced equipment (a sonic drill rig, pictured left) prompted the city to apply, with the assistance of MRWA staff, for another SWP Implementation Grant in the spring of 2024.

The well sealing project was finally completed on June 27, 2024. The entire project—from historical records and site research to sealing—took approximately 5 years to complete, with a total cost of approximately $65,000. Not only did the city of Le Center protect the health of its residents, they also developed valuable relationships with local and state agency staff that will benefit the city in the future when planning other groundwater protection projects.

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