Waterline: Fall 2026

Editors:
Rebecca Toews, Alycia Overbo, Johanna Hayden

Contributors:
Alvine Laure Ekame, Erin Niehoff, Krista Schaff

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Want to be featured in the next Waterline? Submit your story idea to Rebecca.Toews@state.mn.us.

On this page:

• Bacteria! The “clear” winner for new water treatment plant
• Plant-based water filters could transform water treatment
• Lead in School Program releases grant impact report
• Building Water Awareness, One Piece at a Time
• Drinking Water Protection welcomes new engineers/staff
• State Fair EcoExperience volunteers gear up to answer your water questions
• 2026 Drinking Water Institute

Featured Articles

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Building Water Awareness, One Piece at a Time

A new artist in Chatfield is using art to teach residents and visitors about the land, and water resources in the region. Community artist Mary Beth Magyar is partnering with the state Source Water Protection Collaborative to build two mosaics inspired by the region's unique karst geology. By using public art as a catalyst, this hands-on project sparks meaningful conversations about local water protection and empowers community members to help safeguard their resources.

The first mosaic was completed in February with the help of members of the AccessABLE Recreation program and installed in May, at Silver Lake in Rochester.

The Source Water Protection Collaborative is a statewide initiative that brings together experts in water, community outreach, and public health. The Collaborative’s core purpose is to advance collective action and promote land use that ensures clean, safe drinking water for all. To bridge gaps between government entities and residents, the group focuses heavily on building local trust, sharing regional knowledge, and engaging historically overlooked communities. Magyar will spend the year in Chatfield designing and building the art pieces.

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Meet the Team

Drinking Water Protection Program welcomes new engineers/staff

Several new staff have been added to the Drinking Water Protection team in 2026.

The Community Public Water Systems unit welcomed several new district engineers to oversee water sampling and site inspections. For a detailed look at Drinking Water Protection Contacts as well as a map of all drinking water protection Community Public Water Supply districts, check out Drinking Water Protection Contacts.

Gus Molina joined the unit as a new District Engineer in Marshall. Gus earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Southwest Minnesota State University and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from South Dakota State University in Brookings.

Izzy Bergemann joined the unit as a new DWP/CPWS District Engineer for the North Metro. Izzy comes to us from the Bureau of Land Management, where she worked as a District engineer. She conducted field inspections, assessments, worked with plans and supported emergency response. Her experience also includes working as a learning assistant for the University of Wyoming and a trail crew design lead for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Isabel has her civil engineering degree from the University of Wyoming.

Derek Krumwiede joined the unit as a DWP/CPWS District Engineer in Mankato. Derek comes to us from MPCA where he worked as a Solid Waste Permit Engineer. Derek received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Mankato State University in Mankato and is a member of the MN Air National Guard and past member of the MN Army National Guard.

Brian Rivers transitioned from his compliance engineering work to becoming the new East Metro district engineer (covering Chisago, Goodhue, and Washington Counties).

Taylor Olson joined the CPWS unit as the new DWP Field Technician. Taylor is a graduate from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Environmental Science. She has experience in field hydrology and geology. Taylor will mainly be focused on collection of drinking water compliance samples from community water systems. 

Erin Niehoff joined the Communication and Strategic Initiatives Unit in April 2026 to help support the Source Water Protection unit. She holds a degree from University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Krista Schaaf joined MDH as a Communications Fellow student worker this summer. Her work will support the Drinking Water Ambient Monitoring Program, as well as source water and section-wide activities. She is a St. Kate's public health student with a background in community health, resource navigation, and data organization.

Anu Li joined the Communications and Strategic Initiatives unit as a Science & Policy Fellow with the Minnesota Sea Grant program in July. Anu recently defended her PhD in Water Resources Science from University of Minnesota and did multidisciplinary research surrounding chronic wasting disease.  She will be working with the Drinking Water Ambient Monitoring Program on projects related to harmful algal blooms and cyanotoxins and also working with me and others in the section on analyses related to health equity and chloride in drinking water.

Isaac Conrad joined the Communications and Strategic Initiatives unit in September. Isaac is an experienced drinking water communicator, who previously led strategic communications projects for federal drinking water programs. Isaac has also worked previously at Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and MnDRIVE Environment. Isaac works on section-wide communications projects and initiatives.

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What's New

2026 State Fair EcoExperience packs in crowds to get people excited about drinking water

Twin Cities Suburb voted best tap water in Minnesota - MinnPost

To kick off the "Great Minnesota Get Together", Freshwater Collaborative, Minnesota Department of Health, and the many water system vounteers worked together on a bracket challenge between community water systems! The story was featured in an article in MinnPost by Claire Carlson.

In a totally subjective and definitely not scientific contest, State Fair goers judged the Minnesota community with the best tap water.

On the first day of the Minnesota State Fair, glass jugs filled with tap water lined a folding table in a quiet corner of the otherwise packed Eco Experience building.

Read more at MinnPost.

Volunteers answer drinking water questions

Wandering through the EcoExperience building at the state fair is always a great experience. Not only is it a great place to stop for a bathroom break and (especially) a water bottle refill at the water filling station, but visitors get to stop at booths to learn more about key topics in environmental health and awareness.

MDH volunteers staffed the Drinking Water in Minesota booth for the whole 10 days of the Great Minnesota Get-together. They fielded questions from the community about drinking water standards, contaminants, filtration, well-testing and so much more! 

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2026 Drinking Water Institute helps Minnesota educators use real world experience to teach students about their drinking water

About 20 educators from all over the state, representing all grade levels, took part in the "Drinking Water Institute" at Minneapolis Water Works this year. The institute helped K-12 teachers learn about how to incorporate drinking water science, treatment, and understanding into their lesson plans. The institute is taught by instructors from Hamline University's Center for Global Environmental Education (CGEE) as part of a full range of Rivers Institutes that are "designed to increase teachers' science content knowledge and investigation skills and help area educators translate their professional experiences into meaningful, engaging classroom investigations.

Teachers learned the importance of drinking water, how to incorporate water science into their curricula, and brainstormed ways to make their classrooms "overflow" with knowledge about the hard work that goes into making Minnesota's drinking water so great! The also had the opportunity to tour the Minneapolis water treatment plant along the beautiful Mississippi River in Fridley. The annual event is free to any Minnesota teacher, is hosted by Hamline University and sponsored by Minnesota Department of Health.

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