HUDSON - A group of Hudson-area residents continued working Monday to organize a long-term effort to protect their wells from what they see as a threat from the city of Bloomington.

The city has been drilling test wells near Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake to measure water capacity. The ultimate goal is to tap a well that would be used to dilute nitrate-heavy lake water, the city's primary water supply.

In response, about 35 residents attended a meeting for Protect Our Underground Resources, or POUR, on Monday at the Hudson Town Hall.

Laurie Peterson, a POUR organizer, said the group has to get motivated and stay motivated because the city's project will take awhile.

Right now, the city is drilling test wells on its property near the lakes in an effort to find a well site that could produce 1 million to 4 million gallons of water a day.

A well site south of Bloomington also is under study and ideally would provide about 7 million gallons of water a day. That proposed well would add to the city's water supply under the city's plan.

Peterson said the group would like the city to work harder on its watershed conservation plans to help lower nitrate runoff into the lakes.

"But if they won't do that, and likely they won't, we need to stay on them to get those guarantees that they will not dry our wells and they will fix them if they do," Peterson said.

Bloomington's water director, Craig Cummings, said previously it would be the city's responsibility to fix any resident's well the city damages or dries, but only the City Council can approve a written guarantee that the city will pay for it.

City Council has discussed the drilling near the lake area and south west of the city, said Mayor Steve Stockton. But so far, no formal decisions or actions have been taken.

As to providing a written guarantee, Stockton said Monday the city "would be happy to consider that but there maybe some specifics we'd be limited in providing."