Lilydale City Council: Water, Water Everywhere

Water-related issues dominated the discussion at Monday night’s Lilydale City Council meeting.

Councilor Marilyn Lundberg was the first to mention water when she deviated from the meeting agenda by stating her concern that storm drainage from River Pointe Condominiums was causing runoff damage to a stairway on the hillside of .

“It seems to me there is a problem here,” said councilor Lundberg.

The runoff is the result of the renovation of River Pionte’s roof. River Pointe did not submit a storm water management plan prior to renovating.

City engineer Jeff Weiss offered that the city building code is silent on issues of this nature and only addresses drainage problems that damage the property of the landowner, not downstream properties.

The council recommended that Weiss and city attorney Mike O’Brien look into whether River Pointe has committed a city violation, although not all councilors agreed with this suggestion.

“I don’t think this is a city issue, frankly,” said councilor Warren Peterson.

At the time of the meeting, no one had approached River Pointe regarding the drainage issue.

Mayor Anita Pampusch suggested the city contact River Pointe and initiate a dialogue between River Pointe and Lexington-Riverside.

Ongoing Studies May Impact Storm Water Systems

When the council returned to the agenda, Weiss discussed the potential impact of several water studies being conducted in proximity to Lilydale.

The studies, which are being conducted in Pickerel Lake, the lower Minnesota River and the lower Mississippi River, will measure the maximum average amount of specified pollutants allowed to enter each given body of water per day. Pollutant amounts will be determined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The studies are ongoing and won’t be completed for several years.

Once conclusive results are reached, Lilydale may have to retrofit existing storm water systems or build a new system altogether. 

The Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization has been developing ways to assist Lilydale regarding the potential cost share with other potentially impacted cities.

Leaky Pipes

Weiss also stated that a manhole in Lexington Court was found to have an elevated water flow, due to what appeared to be groundwater entering through a crack.

The city will contact St. Paul Regional Water Services to investigate the possibility that the elevated flow was caused by a main leak.

A manhole upstream of Lexington Avenue appeared to have a hole between the pipe and the base of the manhole. It will be repaired.

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