Water

Water shortages and problems around Minnesota — and the country — have many wondering what is the true cost of clean and reliable water. This reporting is supported in part by The Water Main, a project of American Public Media.

Water treatment a central question in PolyMet's environmental study
A proposed copper-nickel mining operation in northeast Minnesota would need long-term water treatment to ensure potentially toxic rock won't pollute area waterways, according to an environmental review released Friday.
Photos: At PolyMet, ramping up to mine copper
PolyMet Mining hopes to unlock copper in the rock of northeastern Minnesota. Their plans bring hope for economic development and fear of environmental damage to the region that used to be the hub of the iron ore industry in the state.
PolyMet copper-nickel mine: Economic opportunity or too environmentally risky?
This Friday the public will get its first peek at a long anticipated environmental study of one of the state's most controversial development projects in years: copper and nickel mining in northeastern Minnesota.
Slowing demand for frac sand changes the landscape in southeast Minnesota
Sand is the crucial ingredient in the oil and natural gas extraction process known as fracking, and there are large deposits of it in the steep bluffs along the Mississippi River. But demand for sand has dropped.