On a chilly day in January, board members from ten local homeowner associations (HOAs) were gathered in a conference room at the Woodbury City Hall. “When you join an HOA board, you’re suddenly faced with all of these challenges,” said Barbara Heitkamp, an educator for the Lower St. Croix Watershed Partnership. “How do you plan ahead for big expenses like storm pond maintenance or trail replacement? When is it the responsibility of the city vs the HOA?” The topic is both professional and personal to her – in addition to working as a stormwater educator, she is also married to the HOA president in her neighborhood in Bayport. As Heitkamp spoke, there were nods of agreement from people around the room.
In 2024, the East Metro Water Education Program (EMWREP) conducted a survey of local HOAs and learned that more than half were budgeting $0 annually for maintenance of stormwater and green infrastructure, including retention ponds, inlet and outlet pipes, raingardens, and native plantings. Survey respondents said they were unsure what features existed on their properties, and equally unaware of long-term and annual maintenance needs. With 7,725 HOAs in Minnesota and more than 25% of the state’s population living in HOAs, the situation appeared to be a recipe for disaster.
“We recognize that HOAs are a uniquely challenging but essential audience within the stormwater community,” says Maggie Karschnia, a Stormwater Extension Educator with the UMN Water Resources Center & Minnesota Sea Grant. “Across Minnesota, thousands of HOAs are responsible for aging stormwater systems, yet most lack the tools, information, and support needed to manage them effectively.”
To address this challenge, staff from EMWREP and the University of Minnesota worked together to develop an education toolkit and launch a three-part Stormwater Leadership Series, which was piloted in the spring of 2025. Board members from the ten participating HOAs learned about a variety of topics, including stormwater management, wetlands, lawn care, snow and ice removal, and irrigation. They also learned strategies for reducing long-term maintenance costs, lowering flood risk, and protecting local lakes and groundwater resources.
“This course should be replicated in watershed districts across the metro area,” says Lynn Boergerhoff, founder of the HOA Leadership Network, which serves more than 850 HOAs in the Twin Cities region. Boergerhoff raved about the stormwater education toolkit and said he was especially appreciative of support provided by Hannah Peterson of Brown’s Creek Watershed District. In addition to leading EMWREP’s survey and focus group work while serving as an AmeriCorps member, Peterson also developed fact sheets and maintenance resources, created a hub of resources on the Washington Conservation District website, and attended HOA Leadership Network meetings to share resources with the members.
“The three-part series was very educational and comprehensive,” agreed Anna Barker and Karl Nordwall of Lakeridge HOA in Woodbury. “We especially enjoyed the opportunity to meet representatives from other HOAs in our area and the in-depth conversations at each seminar.”
With the pilot training series successfully completed, staff from UMN Water Resources are now developing a module to take the HOA leadership course statewide in 2026. In addition, EMWREP was recognized as Minnesota Watersheds’ Program of the Year last week, in recognition of its work to support and educate HOAs.
Meanwhile, the HOA stormwater education toolkit, as well as presentations and materials developed for the leadership course can be found online at www.mnwcd.org/hoa-stormwater-tools.
“You and the team are super heroes!” says Tammy Dennis, a board member at Spinnaker Cove Courthomes in Woodbury. “Thank you for all you do!”
East Metro Water 