Dave Neiman Source Water Protection Awards
Source Water Protection

Every year the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Minnesota Rural Water Association (MRWA) jointly recognize public water systems who demonstrate outstanding commitment to protecting their drinking water source. The winner and finalists are announced at the Minnesota Rural Water Conference in March. They are presented with certificates signed by the Governor's office in hometown recognition ceremonies.

In 2020, MDH and MRWA created a new award category to recognize public water systems serving populations of 1,000 or less.

Effective in 2021, the awards were renamed the “Dave Neiman Source Water Protection Awards” to celebrate and commemorate the contributions that Dave Neiman made to source water protection in Minnesota over his career.

Jump to:

• Winners and Finalists
• Nominate an Outstanding Public Water System
• About Dave Neiman

Winners and finalists

Congratulations to the 2023 winners and finalists listed below! Previous winners and finalists are listed in the archive.

Large system category winner: City of Waconia

The city of Waconia has undertaken several significant projects to ensure long-term safety and sustainability of their water supply, including:

• Conducting a public survey and onsite property searches for wells in the Drinking Water Supply Management Area (DWSMA).
• Constructing data spreadsheets to record and track well survey data.
• Sealing numerous wells on private property in the DWSMA.

Small system category winner: City of Vergas

The city of Vergas has undertaken several notable projects to protect their drinking water source, including:

• Providing wellhead protection educational materials to residents, explaining how they can take actions to protect the city’s drinking water supply.
• Making significant progress on sealing over 20 unused private wells in the Drinking Water Supply Management Area.
• Installing wiring for a generator at the water plant as a security measure for power outages.

Finalists: City of Randall, City of Oronoco, and Terry Bovee

The city of Randall put together a comprehensive response plan after nearly a foot of rain caused significant flooding. They then worked quickly to extend a well casing to protect the aquifer from flood-related contamination, assuring safe drinking water for all residents.

The city of Oronoco took several significant actions to proactively protect their drinking water supply, including backing up the power supply for the city well and distribution system, and sealing numerous wells in the DWSMA and sensitive groundwater vulnerability area.

In his extensive career in wellhead protection, Terry Bovee has written numerous wellhead protection plans for communities across the state. Additionally, he has developed an impressive template for management strategies, which are used in wellhead protection plans, and has provided significant assistance in wellhead protection plan measures through strong leadership and technical assistance.

Nominate an outstanding public water system

Fill out and submit a Nomination Form (PDF) to nominate an outstanding public water system. The form includes instructions. The public water system must have an approved source water protection plan.

Nominations for 2024 awards are accepted from December 1, 2023 - January 19, 2024.

About Dave Neiman

Dave Neiman joined MRWA in 1995 and focused on source water, groundwater, and wellhead protection. Bruce Olsen, former MDH SWP Unit Supervisor said of Dave,

“Dave is one of the pioneers involved with developing the wellhead protection program and has greatly helped MDH staff determine the role that planners have in preparing and implementing wellhead protection plans. Dave is responsible for developing the roles that MRWA plays in protecting public sources of drinking water and was instrumental in helping the MDH assess the practicality of state wellhead regulations as they were being developed. The people of Minnesota owe a debt of gratitude to Dave for his devotion to drinking water protection and for the countless hours that he has contributed to helping public water suppliers protect everyone’s drinking water.”

Dave valued and represented the “salt of the earth” public water supplier perspective in wellhead protection planning and program development. He has left an amazing legacy and his efforts will continue to influence the future of source water protection. Some of Dave’s work can be found on the MRWA website.