Water: A to Zoo

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Water: A to Zoo

Graphic by: Mark Boswell
Updated: December 2, 2008 - 12:15 PM

Water is needed in vast amounts to keep the animals and plants thriving at the Minnesota Zoo. It starts in aquifers deep under the city of Apple Valley, which turns it into potable water. Entering the zoo’s giant water management system, the water is processed to provide the distinctly different types of water needed for saltwater and freshwater mammals and fish, terrestrial animals and humans. And it must be done ecologically. Here’s a look at four of the biggest arteries of that system: