As of August 2016, the Minnesota DNR has identified 121 lakes, rivers and wetlands infested with zebra mussels, including Forest Lake, White Bear Lake, and the St. Croix River south of Stillwater.
Read More
All articles filed in Partners and Updates
Change Is Underway for Cottage Grove Ravine Park
This year, Cottage Grove Ravine Park will undergo a massive transformation as Washington County Parks and the South Washington Watershed District work together to create new visitor facilities, improve habitat within the park, and protect against flooding and erosion from upstream development.
Read More
Using a Watershed Approach to Restore Area Lakes
On Friday, January 27, the Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District broke ground on a $536,605 wetland restoration project in southern Chisago County that will ultimately improve water quality in Moody Lake (Chisago Lake Twp.) and Bone Lake (Scandia). The project will serve as an example for how to work at a watershed scale, as…
Read More
2017 Brings More Than $2 Million in Clean Water Funds to Washington County
$505,000 will be used to help Forest Lake Area Schools, the Rice Creek Watershed District and the City of Forest Lake retrofit stormwater ponds and construct new irrigation systems to reduce groundwater use by more than 4 million gallons per year.
Read More
Battling Floods and Saving Trout – 20 Years of Work for the Brown’s Creek Watershed District
Next year, the Brown’s Creek Watershed District will celebrate its 20-year anniversary and Leiser, the guy with a now-dry basement, is still working hard to prevent flooding and protect lakes and streams throughout the watershed.
Read More
Washington County Embarks on New Business Partnership to Save Money and Reduce Water Use
Washington County is reaching out to area businesses with an offer they can’t refuse – cut costs while protecting local water supplies. The outreach effort, conducted in partnership with the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTap) at the University of Minnesota includes two components: 1) Free, in-depth water efficiency consultations, conducted by MnTAP engineering staff; and…
Read More
Two Llamas and a Prairie
“For our 25th anniversary – the silver anniversary – we got a doe with silver ears and two baby goats.” Becky Vierling smiles as she talks about the small farm in Denmark Township that she and her husband Philip bought in 2003. When the Vierlings took on a more than 100-year old farm house with…
Read More
Please, park on the grass
Though the grassy-pave looks like a lawn from a distance, it is actually a structural system, designed to withstand the weight of cars and trucks without compacting the soil beneath.
Read More
Groundwater and climate change: South Washington Watershed District prepares for new challenges
More water running off the land means less infiltrating down into aquifers; that combined with more people washing clothes, watering lawns and flushing toilets has resulted in declining groundwater levels in some parts of the watershed.
Read More
Water News for the New Year
This year, BWSR awarded 64 new grants totaling $11.7 million. Seven of the projects are in areas draining directly or indirectly to the St. Croix River.
Locally, watershed management organizations – Brown’s Creek, Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix, Middle St. Croix, South Washington, and Valley Branch – are all in the process of updating their 10-year management plans.
Read More
East Metro Water 