Le Sueur County Geologic Atlas

Le Sueur County has partnered with the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to begin a County Geologic Atlas.  The atlas is very important in that it provides a comprehensive geologic and groundwater mapping of Le Sueur County's mineral and water resources.  The atlas will as as a guide for the County when deciding on future land and water management activities.  Additionally, once the atlas is complete, it will provide additional information and resources for staff to initiate projects and programs that will protect and improve resources within the county as well as residents.

Development of the atlas will not begin until Spring 2025.  However, before an atlas can be developed Le Sueur County needs to verify locations of roughly 1,000 wells.  There will be a few different phases that Le Sueur County will undertake in order to identify well locations.

Phase 1:  Le Sueur County is going to identify as many well locations as possible with information that is currently available such as permit information, tax records, and aerial imagery.  Le Sueur County is currently in Phase 1.

Phase 2:  If a well location cannot not be identified with the information above, Le Sueur County will be conducting site visits to verify well locations.  We will be contacting landowners before we come out on site via a phone call, email, or letter.

Once Le Sueur County is able to verify all well locations and the Spring of 2025 approaches, the University of Minnesota will begin the Geologic Atlas Part A.  Within Part A, the water well database and scaled geologic maps showing properties and distribution of sediments and rocks within the subsurface will be developed.  After Part A is completed, then the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will be able to begin Part B.  Within Part B, maps of water levels in aquifers, direction of groundwater flow, water chemistry, and sensitivity to pollution will be developed.  The whole process of creating a Geologic Atlas for the County will take approximately 7 years to complete! 

To learn more about the County Geologic Atlas Program, please visit the following website: https://cse.umn.edu/mgs/county-geologic-atlas.