PFAS is our number one priority in the City of Hastings. So, clean drinking water, as you all know and can understand in the business world is very imperative to our community, and so this is a very serious topic for us.”

Hastings Public Works Director Ryan Stempski

Hastings is in the middle of what will become an approximately $70 million overhaul of its municipal water system, with one PFAS treatment plant under construction, a second preparing to break ground and a third moving through land acquisition and design.
Hastings Public Works Director Ryan Stempski provided members of the Hastings Area Rotary Club with a detailed look at the work during the club’s weekly meeting Thursday, Aug. 6. Stempski discussed how the three treatment plants will operate, why the city chose that approach, the construction schedule and, perhaps most importantly for residents, how Hastings is paying for the massive undertaking.
The price tag for the three facilities currently stands at approximately $26 million for the Central Water Treatment Plant, $22.3 million for the Eastern Water Treatment Plant and $21.7 million for the Western Water Treatment Plant. The western figure could still increase depending on where the city ultimately purchases land and how much additional piping is required.
For Stempski and other city officials, however, the issue begins well before the price tag.
“PFAS is our number one priority in the City of Hastings, as determined by our City Council,” Stempski said. “So, clean drinking water, as you all know and can understand in the business world is very imperative to our community, and so this is a very serious topic for us.”
Stempski has been dealing with PFAS for much of his professional career. He started his career working for Lake Elmo, in the heart of the east metro area where PFAS contamination has been a major concern for years, and has now spent about a decade in Hastings as city engineer and public works director.
“I always joke PFAS follows me wherever I go,” Stempski said.
Rotary member Tony Ciro added a lighter introduction to the complicated topic, recalling unexpectedly running into Stempski while their children were playing hockey at Balsam Lake, Wisconsin. Ciro was wearing a Hastings hat, which prompted a conversation before he eventually recognized Stempski as the person he knew through the city’s PFAS work. Ciro told fellow Rotary members he had previously heard Stempski discuss the issue and had been impressed by both his knowledge and the amount of advocacy taking place on behalf of Hastings.
The scale of the problem explains why that advocacy has become so important. According to Stempski, all six of Hastings’ existing municipal wells exceed the Environmental Protection Agency limit of four parts per trillion for PFAS, meaning the city cannot solve the problem by simply shutting down one troublesome well.
“We don't have a one-well, two-well problem,” Stempski said. “We have an entire aquifer problem.”
Before settling on construction of three treatment plants, the city completed a feasibility study examining several alternatives. Those included treating Mississippi River water, drilling deeper into another aquifer, bringing water to Hastings through the St. Paul Regional Water System and constructing one large centralized treatment plant similar to the approach being used in Woodbury.
The centralized approach did not fit Hastings as well because the city operates different water pressure zones. Routing water from wells throughout town into one facility would have required additional raw water lines and more pumping between those zones.
Instead, city engineers determined that three treatment plants located relatively close to the wells provided the best combination of efficiency and reliability. The arrangement reduces the amount of untreated water that must be moved across town, eliminates some unnecessary pumping and creates redundancy within the system. If one plant is unavailable because of maintenance, a power outage or another operational problem, the other facilities can continue providing treated drinking water.
The first of those facilities, the Central Water Treatment Plant, is already well into construction and is expected to reach final completion in spring 2027. The approximately $26 million facility will serve wells three, five and seven.
Stempski said the walls are in place, underground piping has been completed and construction has moved into roof work. The new PFAS facility is being constructed next to the city’s existing nitrate treatment plant, allowing the two systems to work together.
Water from the three wells will first pass through the new PFAS treatment system before moving through nitrate treatment. From there, it will enter a ground storage reservoir and either serve the lower pressure zone, including downtown Hastings, or be boosted into the city’s higher pressure zone.
PFAS will be removed using granular activated carbon contained inside large treatment vessels. The carbon absorbs PFAS as water passes through, but eventually becomes spent and must be removed and replaced. Based on Hastings’ water chemistry studies, Stempski said those carbon changeouts are expected approximately every 12 to 18 months.
That maintenance requirement played a major role in the design of the building. The facility includes large truck bays that will allow semi trucks used during the carbon replacement process to pull inside, something particularly important during Minnesota winters because the material is handled as a slurry.
The building was also designed so the large treatment vessels themselves can eventually be removed through garage doors if they need replacement. Stempski said other facilities have required portions of roofs or walls to be opened to remove equipment, an expensive maintenance problem Hastings wanted to avoid when designing its plants.
Residents will also see a more public-facing feature at the Central plant. The city plans to install a pedestrian water filling station where Hastings utility customers can obtain PFAS-free water after the facility begins operating. Residents will be able to enter their utility account code and fill a five-gallon container with treated water at no charge.
The station will provide another option while the remainder of the system is constructed. Although the Central plant is expected to be completed in 2027, all three facilities are not expected to be operational until 2029.
The second project, the Eastern Water Treatment Plant, will be built in the Hastings industrial park along Spiral Boulevard at the existing Well Six property. The approximately $22.3 million facility will treat wells six and eight and will address both PFAS and elevated nitrate levels.
PFAS will again be treated using granular activated carbon, while nitrates will be removed through an ion exchange system. Stempski compared the nitrate process to a water softener, with resins or beads inside the vessels that remove contaminants as water passes through.
Unlike the carbon used for PFAS treatment, which eventually has to be replaced, the ion exchange material can be cleaned and reused for years. The combination allows Hastings to address two different contaminants using separate treatment technologies in the same building.
The Eastern plant has already been bid, and Stempski said the city received competitive pricing and has a contractor in place. Construction is expected to begin in late September, with the facility anticipated to begin operating in 2028.
Stempski said treatment plants of this size generally require at least 18 months to build, and obtaining specialized components has become another challenge as communities across the country develop PFAS treatment systems. Treatment vessels for the Central plant have already been delayed twice, and electrical components, generators, manifolds and other specialized equipment can involve long lead times.
While Central and Eastern are well defined, the Western Water Treatment Plant remains earlier in the process. The city has completed a siting study and identified several locations that could work, but no final site had been announced at the time of Stempski’s presentation.
He said the city is negotiating with a landowner and is optimistic that a suitable property can be secured. The plant is currently estimated at approximately $21.7 million, although that cost could rise depending on the final location.
Unlike the Eastern plant, which can be built on property the city already owns, the western project is expected to require a land purchase. Moving the facility farther from existing wells or water infrastructure could also require additional raw water mains, adding to the project cost.
The Western plant would serve wells four and nine. Depending on where it is built, the city could potentially combine several pieces of infrastructure at the same site, including a well, the treatment equipment and a booster station. Stempski said putting those components together could allow the city to share walls, a generator, a driveway and other infrastructure rather than constructing and maintaining several separate facilities.
The goal is to begin construction of the Western plant in 2027, putting the city on course to have the complete PFAS treatment system operating by 2029.
Paying for all of that work has become nearly as complicated as designing it.
The Central Water Treatment Plant has an estimated total project cost of approximately $26 million. The city expects approximately $14 million to come from East Metro 3M settlement funds, and Hastings has also received a $5 million Emerging Contaminant Grant and a $1.2 million Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Planning and Design Grant for the project.
The Central project also includes a $5 million low-interest loan that Stempski said the city will repay over time.
Hastings was not originally in the same position as communities including Cottage Grove, Woodbury, Lake Elmo and Oakdale when funding from the 3M settlement became available. Stempski explained that eligibility at the time relied on an index calculated using PFAS levels. Hastings fell just below the necessary threshold, while the Mississippi River and the geology beneath the area further complicated efforts to establish a connection between contamination in Hastings and the east metro disposal sites.
As health research developed and federal PFAS standards became significantly lower, Hastings found itself above the new regulatory limits. City officials began looking much more closely at underground geology and potential pathways for contamination, eventually establishing a funding connection involving Well Five.
“We've had to dig and scrape and claw and ask and not take no for an answer,” Stempski said.
The city negotiated with the settlement co-trustees to make 59% of eligible Central Water Treatment Plant construction costs reimbursable, excluding the raw water main serving Well Seven. Stempski said the arrangement also provides for 20 years of operation and maintenance reimbursement associated with the eligible portion of the project. That agreement has not been finalized, but he said the eligible operation and maintenance share will likely also be 59%.
The connection changed the order in which Hastings approached its treatment plant construction. City officials originally intended to begin with the Eastern plant and work from east to west, but once settlement funding became available through Well Five, the Central plant moved to the front of the schedule.
“So we followed the funding, right?” Stempski said.
The approximately $22.3 million Eastern Water Treatment Plant now has the strongest funding position of the three projects. Hastings received $17.5 million in state bonding during the most recent legislative session following several years of lobbying at the State Capitol.
The funding slide presented to Rotary listed up to $5 million through an Emerging Contaminant Grant, but Stempski updated that figure during his presentation and said Hastings had received confirmation of the full $5 million. The Eastern plant also has a $1 million MPCA Planning and Design Grant.
Stempski told Rotary members that the Eastern Water Treatment Plant is fully funded with outside money.
“I feel like our project warranted it as much, if not more, than any in the state,” Stempski said. “This is contamination that you know we didn't cause ourselves.”
Across all three projects, Hastings received approximately $3.2 million in MPCA planning and design grants. That includes $1.2 million for the Central plant and $1 million each for Eastern and Western. During his remarks, Stempski referred to approximately $3.2 million to $3.5 million obtained to handle design work, while the individual amounts on his funding presentation total $3.2 million.
The city also used the fact that the treatment facilities are three separate projects to its advantage when applying for Emerging Contaminant Grants. Rather than pursuing one $5 million grant for the entire treatment program, Hastings sought $5 million for Central, $5 million for Eastern and is seeking another $5 million for Western. The first two have now been awarded.
Western remains the major unresolved portion of the funding picture. Hastings has received a $1 million MPCA Planning and Design Grant, allowing engineering work to move ahead, and another $1 million in congressionally directed spending is pending.
The city is also pursuing an Emerging Contaminant Grant of up to $5 million for the Western facility, but Stempski said that money has not yet been awarded. The city expected to learn more later in the fall.
Even if that grant is successful, a substantial portion of the approximately $21.7 million Western project will still require a funding source. Stempski said Hastings continues working with both state and federal lawmakers to find additional assistance.
“We've always said we look under every rock,” Stempski said.
Those outside dollars are particularly important because Hastings water customers will still see costs associated with the treatment program. Stempski said the city has already gone through two rounds of water rate increases of approximately 10% each, and a 13% increase for 2026 was confirmed during the Rotary discussion.
If the Western plant’s funding situation remains largely unchanged, another 13% increase could be necessary in 2027. The city would then rerun its financial projections to determine what additional rate changes, if any, are needed.
Construction is also only part of the long-term cost. Once all three treatment plants are operating, Stempski estimated they will add approximately $1 million annually in maintenance and operational expenses to the Hastings water system.
Ciro closed the presentation by pointing to the scale of outside funding city officials have already brought to Hastings, describing the nearly $50 million secured or identified toward the treatment plants as a major accomplishment for Stempski and the city team.
PFAS remains the primary concern, but Hastings continues to monitor other contaminants as well. Stempski said the Minnesota Department of Health regularly tests the city’s wells for nitrates, PFAS and pesticides. Pesticides are currently a lower concern and have not been detected above concerning levels, but the city remains aware of the issue.
The treatment facilities are also being designed with some flexibility so additional equipment could potentially be added in the future if another contaminant requires treatment.
Stempski also addressed residents in and around Hastings who rely on private wells, particularly those drawing water from the Jordan Aquifer.
“I think if you're in and around the area of Hastings and you're you're in the Jordan Aquifer with your well, which is where our well is, our entire Jordan Aquifer is compromised in Hastings, and so it would be a good idea to get testing,” Stempski said.
Private well owners can contact the Minnesota Department of Health to determine whether they fall within a priority testing area or whether they would need to arrange testing independently.
For the municipal system, Hastings now has a defined path forward. One treatment plant is taking shape, another is preparing for construction and the city is working to secure land, complete engineering and find additional funding for the third.
Together, the three facilities represent approximately $70 million in planned construction before any potential increase in the Western plant cost. Major settlement, grant and state bonding assistance has already been secured for Central and Eastern, leaving the western side of Hastings as the biggest remaining financial challenge.
For a contamination problem measured in parts per trillion, the solution has become one of the largest infrastructure undertakings facing the city, with work expected to continue through 2029.