What they’re drilling for in Robbinsdale, Minn.
Crews are drilling across three Minnesota sites as officials investigate PFAS contamination and weigh options for treating the city’s water.
Over the course of this summer the town of Robbinsdale, Minn. has contracted drilling crews and remediation specialists to get to the bottom of a PFAS problem, it still can’t quite understand.
Across three sites in the town, crews contracted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency are drilling exploratory wells of down to a depth of 300 feet to figure out the source of a chemical that has water in the town testing as high as six parts per trillion when it comes to PFAS levels, according to a report that was conducted last year.
The Environmental Protection Agency standards say any levels of four ppt or more are considered too high. Robbinsdale officials aren’t going to the full depth of 400 feet, which is the source of their public water wells, as they believe that they will understand what’s contaminating their water before they reach the source, according to a CBS News report.
Robbinsdale’s water supply comes from three main aquifers which range in depths of 400 or more feet. Those water repositories are the Prairie Du Chien, Jordan and Jordan-St. Lawrence aquifers.
When contacted by The Driller, the city refused comment at the time, but an official at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sent over the following:
“The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is working cooperatively with the City of Robbinsdale on the investigation into PFAS contamination in the city’s water and a plan for water treatment. Desktop assessments completed to date analyzed groundwater flow, subsurface geology, and potential PFAS sources.”
The organization awarded the town a grant of $2.79 million in order to “to conduct a feasibility report, compare different treatment options, and develop plans for removing PFAS from our drinking water,” according to a report released and subsequently updated by the town of Robbinsdale earlier this summer.
In 2025, the city released its annual water report in which it contends that the town’s water is safe to drink. The full report can be obtained here.
First step is sourcing the issue which included drilling to depths of up to 300 feet across three different sites in the town, analyzing water in ponds and streams in addition to contacting residents in Robbinsdale, who opt to use private water wells.
The goal? Understand, remediate and align with current EPA standards before a hard three-year deadline of compliance of April 2029, though a July report from the town contends that the EPA would consider granting an extension until 2031.
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
