When community members were asked to give comments and ask questions at a meeting Thursday to discuss water issues in the northeast metro, many hands shot up into the air.

One person who lives near White Bear Lake said it makes sense to run a culvert between the lake, which has been plagued with low water levels, and a nearby lake that’s brimming with water. Another worried that contaminated water might be draining into White Bear Lake. A third believed pumping from the aquifer below the lake has been excessive. Others asked what can be done immediately to benefit the levels of the lake and the aquifer.

Getting everyone to listen, ask questions and make comments in a civil fashion was the task of Rep. Peter Fischer, DFL-Maplewood.

“There’s a lot of mistrust,” he said.

A day before the meeting, the Metropolitan Council released a draft report that estimated the costs of piping Mississippi River water to 13 northeast metro communities to replace pumping from the aquifer. The costs run to the hundreds of millions of dollars.

But what will lead to the best long-term results is a matter of opinion, in part because more in-depth facts are still years away.

A big question, for example, is whether pumping from the aquifer is what’s leading to the lower water levels in White Bear Lake.

“We don’t know if this is true yet or not,” said U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist Perry Jones. A previous USGS study indicated lake water flows into the aquifer. But, he said, it’s not certain that groundwater pumping is a cause.

“This flow can be occurring naturally, even if no groundwater pumping was occurring,” Jones said. “But removing water from the aquifer through pumping may increase the amount of water leaving the lake.”

And factions disagree about whether funneling Mississippi River water into White Bear Lake — a process called augmentation — would work.

A USGS study looking directly at this question is underway. The full report isn’t expected until 2016, although findings will be reported as they come out.

How to pay for the various possibilities is another big question, and the Met Council’s final report, due in October, will have some suggestions. That still leaves state, county and local officials in the uncomfortable position of having to make choices before having in hand all possible information. To make the planning process even more complicated, the various governmental entities and private groups have different priorities and budget limitations.

The water supply issue is complicated, but not necessarily partisan, Fischer said. Rather than Republicans versus DFLers, he said, the sides in the larger debate are more likely to be rural versus urban or agriculture versus business.

He and others pushed for and received funding from the Legislature the funding to re-establish a legislative water commission; it will be a group of six senators and six representatives, half Republican and half DFL. Its goal is to develop expertise so members can answer questions from other lawmakers.

Factions focused on the water level in White Bear Lake are in court-ordered mediation right now. A group numbering 1,000 called the White Bear Lake Restoration Association has sued the state Department of Natural Resources, saying the lake level has dropped precipitously because the agency, which issues pumping permits, allowed too much water to be taken out of the aquifer.

The plans detailed in the Met Council report for piping in Mississippi River water to area residents and businesses would require much more time and money than just filling up the lake with that water. So augmentation is the logical thing to try first, said restoration association chair Greg McNeely.

“They broke our lake. They should fix it,” he said.

Debra O’Connor can be reached at 651-228-5453. Follow her at twitter.com/DebOConnorPP.