Faribault high schooler Emily Torres loves to make pasta. But she can’t rely on her kitchen faucet clean water to boil it in.
It’s been more than a decade since light-brown water began to come out of the faucet in her multigenerational household at Knollwood Courts. The manufactured-home community is home to multiple families that Clean River Partners Community Engagement Coordinator Heron Mahr said reflects a widespread issue she’s noticed on her tour around the state.
The state Legislature updates its regulations surrounding drinking water once a decade. Lawmakers will make the next round of updates during this coming session.
To prepare, the Minnesota Department of Health and Clean River Partners have been surveying the public about their concerns surrounding drinking water. They stopped Tuesday night in Faribault at the Community Action Center and were met by a diverse crowd.
“We’ve been spreading out and trying to reach as much of Minnesota as we can, and as many populations as we can,” Mahr said. “So this is awesome, seeing the Somali community and Spanish-speaking community represented. … We’re just trying to get perspectives from different people living in different places to inform or like to tell MDH where the problems are in our drinking water systems.”