Will Goodview water project be flush with stimulus money?

Probably not. The Post Bulletin reports in Goodview pins hopes on stimulus bil:

As cities, counties and schools compete for federal stimulus dollars for new projects, Goodview city officials fear they may lose out.

The city is already halfway done with a $4.3 million water treatment project being required by the Minnesota Department of Health. The city has until July 1 to finish the two treatment plants to bring the city's levels of radium in its drinking water in line with federal standards.

With construction crews already at work, Goodview City Administrator Dan Matejka fears the city might get passed over for the federal dollars.

"If we could have delayed our project one year, I think this would be a perfect fit for the stimulus package. But we couldn't because of the deadline we had to meet," he said.

The city had to start construction under an agreement it made with the state of Minnesota; it has already raised its water rates 113 percent.

Congressman Walz isn't happy about the possible exclusion of the project from the stimulus pie:

First District Rep. Tim Walz said it is unfair that some cities might get money to build treatment plants while Goodview, which has already started the work and got federal approval, will be left out.

"This makes absolutely no sense and again the folks down in Goodview aren't building a Christmas tree museum or something. They are trying to adhere to the law to be able to flush their toilets and have clean drinking water," the Mankato Democrat said.

Some are questioning whether or not the level of radium in the city's water is really a danger to the residents' health. The PB explores the issue in Goodview mayor calls water treatment project a waste of money. The amount of radium in small town's water is just over current acceptable standards:

At issue is the amount of radium in the city's drinking water. Radium is a natural component of underground rock and soil that can work its way in to ground water. Long-term exposure to radium has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. But just how much radium is too much?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), drinking water should contain no more than 5.4 picoCuries per liter of Radium 226 and Radium 228. But in 1991, the EPA considered changing those guidelines, nearly quadrupling the maximum contaminant level to 20 pCi/L. Anticipating the change, the Minnesota Department of Health stopped enforcing the lower levels, said Stew Thornley, health educator with the department's drinking water program.

But those changes never happened. Instead, the EPA decided to keep radium levels the same. In 2007, 10 municipal water systems were found to be in violation -- including Goodview. The city's radium levels were found to be between 7 to 9 piC/L.

"It's not the kind of thing that would cause any kind of immediate illness. It's just a long-term concern we want to make sure gets taken care of," Thornley said.

The small town is definitely placed between its rocks and hard place and it's understandable why the mayor is pissed..