Metropolitan Comprehensive Planning

As part of the Metropolitan (Met) Council’s regional planning process, local government units in the seven-county metropolitan area are required to develop local comprehensive plans. The plans are required to address topics including land use, housing, transportation, parks and trails, climate, natural systems, and water resources. Specific information about minimum requirements for various sections of the plans can be found in the Met Council’s Local Planning Handbook. Drinking water protection crosses policy areas and should be considered throughout these comprehensive plans. To help meet minimum requirements and to get more out of your plan, staff in the Source Water Protection (SWP) Unit at Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) have complied the information found on this page.

Guidance for drinking water protection and comprehensive plans – coming soon!

This primary guidance document is still in progress. This document will contain issues that are important to drinking water protection, recommendations for how to address those issues in your comprehensive plan, as well as how these recommendations relate to various minimum requirements. Check back to this page for updates. In the meantime, below are various existing resources surrounding the topics to be addressed in the comprehensive plans.

Additional resources

Below are resources to supplement the primary guidance document that will soon be available. Additional resources may be added as work on the comprehensive plans progresses. 

• Source Water Protection Web Map Viewer
• Reports and Geospatial Data
• Source Water Assessments
• Land Cover and Associated Potential Contaminant Sources (PDF)
• List of Non-municipal Public Water Systems in the Seven-County Metropolitan Area (PDF) 
  • Note that the "Vulnerable Well" column indicates if the public water system has at least one well classified by MDH as vulnerable. 
• NEW: Large Volume Water Users and Public Water Supply (PDF)

Technical assistance

After reviewing the available resources, if you have questions regarding integrating drinking water protection into your comprehensive plan, please reach out to one of the SWP staff below. Please note that while SWP staff are able to provide technical assistance, Met Council staff should be consulted for questions regarding meeting minimum requirements and other regulatory assistance. Contact information for Met Council sector representatives is available at Regional Planning Process - Local Planning Handbook.

SWP Metro District contacts

• Metro Regional Planner: Abby Shea, abby.shea@state.mn.us, 651-201-4386 
• Metro Regional Hydrologist: Anneka Munsell, anneka.munsell@state.mn.us, 651-201-5841