Skip to main content
Turn on more accessible mode
Turn off more accessible mode
Skip Ribbon Commands
Turn off Animations
Turn on Animations
FollowFollow Focus on Content Focus on Content
Alert:
Service and license centers closed June 19 in observance of Juneteenth.
Dakota County Logo
  • Maps & Directions
  • |
  • Departments
  • |
  • About Us
  • |
  • Contact Us
Dakota County Logo
  • Government
      • Board of Commissioners
      • County Attorney
      • County Sheriff
      • Commissioner Meetings
      • County Manager
      • Budget & Financial Reports
      • Performance & Analysis
      • Land Use Planning
      • County Policies
      • Data Practices
      • Advisory Committees
      • Other Public Committees & Initiatives
      • Doing Business with the County
      • Information Technology
      • Jobs & Volunteering
      • Public Employee Training
      • Other Public Entities
      • Voting & Elections
  • Home & Property
      • Pay Property Taxes
      • Property Tax Statements
      • Property Tax 101
      • Property Tax Programs, Homesteads & Credits
      • Important Dates for Property Owners
      • Assessing Property
      • Recording Property Documents
      • Property Watch
      • Foreclosed Property
      • Tax-Forfeited Property
      • Online Property Maps
      • Online Property Records
      • Homebuyer & Homeowner Programs
      • Aggregate Tax
      • Evictions
      • Plats & Surveys
      • Taxing Districts & Tax Increment Financing
      • Selling Property
      • Maps & Mapping Services
  • Permits & Licenses
      • Service & License Centers
      • Birth Certificates
      • Death Certificates
      • Marriage Licenses & Certificates
      • Passports
      • Driver's License
      • Motor Vehicle Titles & Registration
      • Recreational Vehicle Licenses
      • Game & Fishing Licenses
      • Professional Licenses
      • Gambling Permits
      • Liquor Licenses
      • Cannabis Permits
      • Gun Permits
      • Assembly Licenses
      • Building & Land Use Permits
      • Business Hazardous Waste Licenses
      • Well Permits
      • Waste Hauler & Facilities Licenses
      • Highway Permits
  • Law & Justice
      • Most Wanted
      • Warrants
      • Criminal Complaint Search
      • Report a Crime Tip
      • Crime Prevention
      • Jail
      • Juvenile Detention
      • Crime Victim & Witness Support
      • Alternatives to Court
      • Service of Legal Documents
      • Law Library
      • Contact a Probation Officer
      • Probation & Community Programs
      • Conditions of Probation
      • Probation Fees & Restitution
      • District Courts
      • County Ordinances
      • Fingerprinting Services
      • County Attorney News Releases
      • County Sheriff News Releases
  • Health & Family
      • Healthy Living
      • Job Search Assistance
      • Parenting Help
      • Personal Finance
      • Public Assistance
      • Adult Protection
      • Child Care
      • Child Protection
      • Child Support
      • Adoption
      • Chemical Health
      • Foster Care
      • Mental Health
      • Aging & Disability Services
      • Emergency Preparedness
      • Health Services
      • Veterans Services
  • Environment
      • The Recycling Zone
      • Recycling Guide
      • Residential Recycling & Disposal
      • Business Recycling & Disposal
      • School Recycling & Disposal
      • Environmental Education Resources
      • Water Resources
      • Energy
      • Land Conservation
      • Sustainability
      • Environmental Funding
      • Environmental Reports & Studies
      • Report an Environmental Concern
  • Transportation
      • Current Road Construction
      • Planned Road Construction
      • Road Safety
      • Transportation Studies
      • Traffic Counts
      • Getting Around the County
      • Highways & Your Property
      • Transit
      • Contact Transportation
      • Transportation Planning
      • Sales & Use Tax
  • Maps & Directions About Us
    Departments Contact Us
Dakota County Logo
Water Resources
 
Search
  • Home
    • Environment
      • Water Resources
        • Groundwater
          • Pages
            • default

Contact

Environmental Resources
952-891-7000
environ@co.dakota.mn.us  


  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Lake Byllesby Dam & Reservoir
  • Shoreland and Floodplain Management
  • GroundwaterCurrently selected
    • Groundwater Quality
    • Water Conservation
    • Groundwater Plan
    • Water Watch
    • Irrigation Water Testing
    • Water Wise: Lawn Watering Wisdom
  • Wells & Drinking Water
  • Septic Systems
  • Stormwater
  • Wetlands
  • Cleanup of Contaminated Sites
  • Agriculture
  • Swimming Pools & Recreational Beaches
  • Links & Resources

Groundwater

Page Content

​​Groundwater supplies 75 percent of Minnesota's drinking water.  Here in Dakota County, groundwater supplies more than 90 percent of the drinking water.

What is ground​water?

Groundwater is an important part of the hydrologic (water) cycle. The cycle begins with precipitation like rain and snow falling to the ground. Rain or snow melt either runs off the land into lakes, rivers and wetlands or soaks into the soil.

Some water is taken up by plants and transpired back into the air. The rest of the water, called recharge, infiltrates downward to the water table filling in the spaces between sediment and rocks in the ground. Water soaks into the ground at different rates depending on the type of soil, vegetation and other factors.

In general, water moves from higher elevation to lower elevation from where it is recharged to where it discharges to a lake, stream or ocean and becomes surface water. Surface water can either recharge and infiltrate to groundwater or evaporate into the atmosphere where it forms clouds and becomes rain and snow to begin the cycle again.​

Learn more about the basics of groundwater and find resources for classrooms, at these websites:

  • The Groundwater Foundation
  • University of Minnesota Groundwater Basics Course
  • Minnesota Groundwater Association
  • Water Environment Federation - Teachers and Students K-12
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency​ - Drinking Water for Kids
 


Last updated: 2/23/2024 9:42 AM

Administration Center
  • 1590 Highway 55
  • Hastings, MN 55033
  • Ph: 651-437-3191
  • Toll free: 800-247-1056
  •  
  • See all County buildings
    Social Media
  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Next Door
  • Sign up for E-News
    Quick Links
  • Home
  • Accessibility
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Language Translation
  • Job Opportunities
  • Make a Payment
  • Privacy Policy
Dakota County, Minnesota
Sign In