(Our second in a four-part weekly series to help people moving to our part of the world from places where utilities are always there.)
When living on the North Shore, most of us aren’t water utility customers; we are the water utility. Any home not in one of our cities will rely on a private well, drilled deep into the ancient bedrock or, occasionally, a direct lake intake if the property is on the lakeshore. Either way, water reaches your sink via an electric pump. This shift in infrastructure requires a shift in mindset, specifically concerning three new realities: Power, Filtration, and Testing.
This everyday convenience changes dramatically on the North Shore. Any power outage, let alone a three-day one, will silence your plumbing here unless you have an emergency generator—no lukewarm shower for you, or a cold one.
Pressure is another key difference to consider. In more urban areas, water towers use gravity to maintain pressure. On the Shore, when electricity dies, your pump—a device that moves water from your well to your house—also stops working, leaving you with only the water stored in your pressure tank (a container that keeps water pressurized for the home), usually just 20-25 gallons.
Water quality also changes once you leave city limits. City water is chemically balanced to be neutral. North Shore water is “wild.” Depending on your property’s rock type, your water might be high in iron (which can turn white laundry orange) or manganese (which can leave black “pepper” flakes in the dishwasher).
Some homes need a basement “treatment train”: sediment filter, softener, and possibly an iron filter. Learning to change or bypass filters is essential. If pressure drops, check the sediment filter before calling anyone.
In addition to managing equipment, you must also address water safety. You cannot taste, see, or smell the most common contaminants in Minnesota groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Health recommends testing your well annually for coliform bacteria and nitrates. Furthermore, because of our unique geology, every North Shore well should be tested at least once for arsenic and manganese.
Owning a well is a responsibility, but you gain the reward of drinking water untouched by city pipes. Keep filters clean, test kits handy, and fill the tub before storms.
Beyond wells, lake water is another local option. Although North Shore wells can be costly, many residents use lake water as an alternative. Lakewater systems require shifting from a passive consumer to an active water system operator.
In Minnesota, the rules for drawing lake water depend on how much you use. Most single-family homes do not need a DNR water appropriation permit if they serve fewer than 25 people and use less than 10,000 gallons per day. You generally must own the lakeshore (riparian rights) to install an intake line.
Treating lake water brings its own set of steps. A lake-draw system requires a multi-stage process. The intake should reach deep, cooler water to avoid surface bacteria and algae. An intake screen and foot valve keep out debris. Lake water’s turbidity demands at least a two-stage filter: a coarse pre-filter and a finer post-filter. An organic resin filter addresses tannins.
The gold standard for disinfecting lake water is a UV (ultraviolet) light, which uses energy to destroy bacteria like E. coli and parasites like Giardia. For drinking water, a dedicated Reverse Osmosis system (a filter that forces water through a membrane to remove very small impurities) at the kitchen sink is highly recommended to catch anything the UV light might miss and to improve taste.
Unlike a well, which is “set it and forget it,” a lake system requires monthly attention. You will frequently change filter cartridges, especially after a big storm stirs up the lake.
