City Services

Do you have a question about your water bill?

All questions concerning billing, can be directed to Mary @ City Hall, 320-968-7260.

Must Knows About City of Foley Water/Sewer Service

The charge for residential and other sanitary sewage use shall be based upon the quantity of water used upon and in the premises connected to said sanitary sewer system.

Usage shall be measured by meters.

The property owner is responsible for reading the meter every quarter and turning this meter reading into City Hall. Residents who fail to read their meter will be assessed a fee.

The owner shall be liable for water supplied to his property, whether he is occupying the property or not and any charges unpaid shall be a lien upon the property.

Water and sewer charges shall be billed together. Bills shall be mailed to the customers quarterly and shall specify the water consumed and the sewer and water charges.

All charges for water and sewer services shall be due on the quarterly due date, that is stamped on the billing and shall be delinquent 30 days thereafter. In any case, where satisfactory arrangements for payment have not been made, the maintenance department may discontinue service to the delinquent customer by shutting off the water at the stop box. When water service to any premises has been discontinued, service shall not be restored except upon payment of all delinquent bills and a reconnection fee of $50.

City Receives Complaints on Water Smell

From the Benton County News, May 16, 2006

Starting last December 2005, some residents in the City have called with complaints of an odor in the water. At the time of the complaints well No. 2 was in operation, and the water smelled like fuel oil or diesel. The Minnesota Department of Health was notified of a possible potential problem. The MDH had done a complete test of Well No. 2 in February 2005, which included 68 organic tests of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) in the water. All tests passed for drinking standards.

Well No. 2 was then shut off and water tests for diesel organics were performed, as well an many other tests. These tests were performed by Pace Analytical (a large lab in Minneapolis) on December 21, 2005. The results of the tests indicated NO diesel range organics in the well water. The well was also turned on and run for three days, with all the water flowing into Stony Brook, not into the City water system. This was a means of flushing a large amount of water out of the well. As the smell was still present after the flushing, the City Council approved the removal and cleaning of the well.

The well piping and pump was removed and the well was chlorinated. A new casing, submersible pump and piping were all installed in February.

The water was again tested before putting it on line, with all tests meeting the State of Minnesota and EPA guidelines for safe drinking water. The well water was again pumped into Stony Brook for over three hours with no detectable smell. The well was then put on line into the City water system on March 15, having met all standards. Over 40 residents called about a smell in the water in the following weeks. The well stayed in-service until April 4th, as the Health Department recommended running it to see if it would clear up. City staff could also smell it at the well.

The Minnesota Department of Health again sampled the well on April 25, 2006. The well was used May 4th, 5th and 8th while hydrant flushing was taking place, along with two other wells. At this writing the well has been tested and is safe to drink, even with a smell.

The City and the Health Department have been looking and researching other possible causes of the smell. There have been other cities that have experienced similar problems and those wells over time have lost the odor through use. At the present time any possible contaminants are consistently below the (MCL) maximum contaminant level for safe drinking water standards, It is safe to drink.

The City of Foley sends two samples a month, from various points on the water system to an independent lab for sampling. Later this summer the water tower will be getting a new coat of paint, inside and out. While this is being done lower water pressure may be experienced, for the length of the project. During this time water restrictions may also be put in place.

Please watch future issues of the Benton County News for updates on this painting.

A printable version of this article is available here!

Update On City of Foley Well and Water

From the Benton County News, March 27, 2007

City well #2, located on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Highway 23 was drilled in 1969 to keep up with growth of the City. Until that time there was only one well in the City. Well #2 has always had some none life threatening issues. Two years after it was drilled the water levels dropped and in 1971 a third well was drilled, because water levels in well #2 were causing supply problems. In the 1970’s the well had an odor problem but the water always met health standards when tested. When the odors disappeared the water had a white, milky appearance, but again passed sampling tests for public water supplies.

Due to growth and fire protection demands another well was drilled behind Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in the fall of 2005. At this time well #2 again was having an odor and complaints were received by City Staff. Tests were taken by the Minnesota Dept. of Health and the City used two private labs also, in an effort to find a cause of the odor in the water.

In January of 2006 the well pipe and pump were pulled and a new casing and submersible pump were installed and the well was once again disinfected. The first few days of startup the well was odor free and then shortly thereafter it returned. Again testing indicated that it met public drinking water standards. The well was used as a backup this past summer while the water tower was being painted and was tested even more often than required by law.

In doing the extra testing some small amounts of benzene were detected. The amounts were not high enough (non life threatening) to cause public notification but caused concern about future contamination. The well has not been in use since October 2006, but testing of the water has continued. It has been determined that the smell is an iron bacterium that is not harmful, but smells like oil. The smell and the benzene are two different issues. The amounts of benzene in the water have increased and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was notified as benzene is usually found in old gas and fuel oil tank basins.

The City has notified the Minnesota Dept. of Health and taken the well out of primary service. In the past week MPCA began a drilling test site around the well in an effort to locate the possible source of the benzene. The cost of this project is being done with Petrol funds.

At this time the other City wells have not had any detection of contaminants (they are tested weekly) and continue to be safe. Foley water will normally test better than even bottled water.

A printable version of this article is available here!