Lake Elmo Shuts Down Well, Water Tower

LAKE ELMO, Minn. (AP) _ The Washington County community of Lake Elmo has shut down a municipal well and one of its water towers because of elevated levels of a chemical once discharged by the 3M Company.

City officials say new information from state health officials about excess levels of perfluorochemical, or PFC, caused them to take the well and water tower offline. Reports say the city says water pressure will be increased in two other wells to compensate.

PFCs are man-made chemicals invented by 3M in the 1950s that have been used to make nonstick products. The state and the Maplewood-based corporation settled a lawsuit last month for $850 million over the company's discharge of the PFCs into the groundwater for many years. The money is intended to fund clean-water efforts in the affected communities.