Erin Murphy’s first tour of a wastewater treatment plant was when she was in sixth grade.
On Thursday, the Minnesota governor candidate and state representative visited the North Koochiching Area Sanitary District treatment plant for a tour by led by chief plant operator Greg Schneider and Cyndy Strand, district executive director.
Murphy said water infrastructure is critical to all Minnesota communities, and the state has a backlog of needs for modernizing wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.
“As the state’s governor, I want to focus on that and give it priority so communities don’t have to rely solely on their property tax base to take care of,” Murphy said at the plant. “The best way for me to understand and articulate to other people in the state of Minnesota is to actually experience and see it. I can tell a better story that way and that’s why I am here.”
The local wastewater treatment plant was renovated in 2012 and 2014 at a cost of about $12 million to meet state and federal standards. The renovation involved a portion of the plant constructed in the 1950s and another part constructed in the 1990s.
