Marine Tech L.L.C. of Duluth has been busy these past few weeks dredging for the approximately 2-mile pipeline that will carry water from Lake Superior to businesses and residences tat the top of the Lutsen Ski Hill. Much of the water will be used by Lutsen Mountains to make snow in the winter, and water will also benefit Superior National golf course in the summer when they need it to water greens and fairways. The estimated time to finish the pipeline is spring of 2015.
Work on the Lake Superior- Poplar River Water District pipeline, a project three years in the making is under way. Marine Tech of Duluth is working to install the piping at the Lake Superior inlet.
When the approximately 2-mile, 20-inch diameter pipeline is up and running between Lake Superior and Lutsen Mountain Ski Hill, it will be able to pump 7,500 gallons of water per minute to users in the water district.
In November 2011, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told Lutsen Mountains Ski Hill that it had to stop drawing water from the Poplar River for snowmaking by fall 2016. The ski hill and other area businesses drafted a plan, environmental studies were conducted, and in October 2012, the DNR determined that the proposed Lake Superior-Poplar River Water District pipeline would have no significant environmental effects.
In addition to snowmaking, water drawn from Lake Superior will be used for irrigation of Superior National at Lutsen golf course, as a water source for local fire departments and eventually for drinking water. However, additional funds are needed to complete the water plant and drinking water phase of the project.
The cost of the pipeline project is estimated at $4.8 million. Construction began with $3.6 million secured in the 2012 state bonding bill. A local match is required so a number of project partners have contributed such as the Cook County-Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA); Superior National at Lutsen golf course; Caribou Highlands Lodge; Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior; Mountain Inn; Village at Lutsen Mountain Condominium Association; Eagle Ridge Resort; Papa Charlie’s Restaurant, and several other businesses, with Lutsen Mountains contributing the majority of the necessary funding.
The Lake Superior-Poplar River Water District is now seeking $1.1 million in supplemental funding to complete the drinking water portion of the project. In a 2014 bonding request, Government Affairs Specialist Judy Erickson explained that there is a funding shortfall because the project was complicated by difficult and remote terrain and by the fact that the Lake Superior inlet needs a specialized contractor that can work from a barge and tug boat to conduct underwater blasting.
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