West Side Reservoir Put Back into Service

On Tuesday, November 19 around 10 pm there was an incident involving our West Side water reservoir and a hatch was forced open illegally. In response, Saint Paul Regional Water Services’ staff isolated the reservoir from the water distribution system as a precaution until tests could confirm if there was a contamination concern. 

Tests conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health have come back negative for drinking water quality concerns. The reservoir is being placed back into service Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 20, following these results.

“These types of incidents are treated very seriously as they have the potential to involve purposeful contamination and affect water safety,” said Racquel Vaske, SPRWS general manager. “We’ve treated this matter with the utmost urgency and care to ensure the continued safety of our community. Our team worked through the night alongside the Minnesota Department of Health to evaluate the reservoir and collect water samples.”

“We appreciate the support of the local law enforcement and the Minnesota Department of Health to address this situation quickly.”

View of a water tower with Saint Paul skyline in the distance

Who We Are

Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) is the public drinking water utility for the city of Saint Paul and surrounding suburbs. We've been a public water utility since 1882, and our origin traces to a private company formed in 1869.

SPRWS serves approximately 450,000 customers. In order to meet this demand for reliable, high-quality drinking water, we treat and pump an average of 40 million gallons of water per day - enough to cover an entire football field in 93 feet of water.

No taxes are used to support the utility. The utility is self-supporting with revenue obtained through the sale of water and payment for services.

Billing and Payment

Pay a bill online    Moving and water service transfers    Call customer service    Email customer service 

We accept a wide variety of payment methods and have options available for automatic payments. For more information, visit our billing and payment page. If you have questions or need assistance regarding billing or payments contact SPRWS customer service using the buttons above or one of the methods below:

By phone:  
651-266-6350  
7:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday

In person:  
1900 Rice St.  
Saint Paul, MN 55113  
8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday

Lead Free SPRWS logo

Lead Free SPRWS

Lead Free SPRWS is a 10-year plan to eliminate all lead water service lines across our service area—at no cost to property owners.

How to Check Your Service Line Material

Curious if your property has a lead water service line? Use our interactive service material map to search by address. Eligible property owners can submit an intent form or provide contact details to stay informed about future replacement opportunities. Additionally, the state of Minnesota's service material map offers a view of service materials statewide.

Learn More

Visit our Lead Free SPRWS page for more information.

Six construction workers installing a 36" ductile iron pipe

Construction Projects

We operate and maintain a complex system of water supply, treatment, and distribution infrastructure. To guarantee the performance and longevity of this system, SPRWS makes significant investments in infrastructure replacement and installation projects. Our employees work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure this system continues to produce and supply high-quality water.

For more information about some of these ongoing and upcoming projects, refer to the links below:

Water Treatment Plant Improvements

While current water quality remains exceptional, SPRWS is proactively looking towards the future and planning to make significant improvements to the McCarrons water treatment plant. Most of the changes to the facility will be targeted at improving reliability and flexibility and will enable the utility to continue to meet the needs of customers in the future. Overall, SPRWS expects to replace roughly two-thirds of the existing treatment process with more modern technology.

2024 Water Main Construction Projects

These projects are vital for maintaining the water distribution system that delivers water from our treatment plant to homes and businesses. We replace and install several miles of water main each year. Water main construction projects often involve temporarily closing streets, and may require placing affected customers on temporary water mains.

Hydrant Restoration

Watch our new video to see how Saint Paul Regional Water Services has expertly restored two 140-year-old water hydrants. Discover one of the ways we keep our water system up to date and functioning smoothly for everyone.

Last Edited: November 20, 2024