By Shay Lelonek / Asst. News Director

MONTICELLO, Minn. — Xcel Energy is working hard to recover tritium from water that leaked into the ground beneath the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant.

According to the press release, Xcel Energy has installed many new monitoring wells and increased their monitoring frequency.

Over the last two years, their teams have retrieved millions of gallons of affected water, bringing the tritium concentrations in the groundwater down by more than 90 percent from their initial readings.

Groundwater monitoring wells identified low levels of tritium in two wells near the Mississippi River, both levels were below the EPA standard.

The tritium has not posed any risk to the surrounding communities, Xcel Energy employees, or the environment at any point.