By splitting the cost of clean water projects with private landowners, watershed organizations are able to stretch grants and public, taxpayer funding further so that they can complete more projects per year. Private landowners, on the other hand, benefit from the design and installation assistance provided by the watersheds and are able to take on planting projects that they may not have been able to do, or afford, on their own.
Read MoreAll articles filed in Keeping water clean
A Hill of Beans
In your garbage, compost will fester for a few days, attracting a fruit fly or two, and eventually contribute to the over 48 million tons of food waste created by people in the U.S. every year. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, food waste makes up 17% of the garbage in our ever-filling landfills.
Read MoreLessons from the locals
Says Stillwater Council Member Doug Menikheim, “The Lake McKusick story is a great example of what can happen when citizens pitch in to improve their community and different layers of government work together to save money and get things done.â€
Read MoreGetting rid of junk
On Tuesday, April 26 Washington County, South Washington Watershed District and the City of Cottage Grove will be co-hosting an open-house at the Environmental Center from 5-6:30pm. During this time, they will be showcasing clean water projects from around the county as well as providing information about cost-share grants and assistance available to help residents improve backyard habitat and do clean water landscaping projects like raingardens and shoreline plantings.
Read MoreProtecting the St. Croix River
In Washington County, raingardens, shoreline plantings and grassed waterways are spreading like wildflowers. There were nearly 100 clean water projects on private land in the county in 2009, and 130 in 2010.
Read MoreSprings have Sprung
Rocks are weeping along the St. Croix River. If you hike along the river’s edge, you can see clear, cold water trickling down the sides of their walls and burbling to the surface year-round. In seepage swamps, found low at the bases of cliffs, skunk cabbage blooms in late winter, while in the spring, rare…
Read MoreA new twist on fish fry
For those of you keeping track, 23,000 pounds of carp could probably feed at least one thousand hungry Packer fans, more if you went heavy on the rye bread.
Read MoreLitter in the water (or the butt that broke the camel’s back)
In 2009, volunteers picked up 10,239,538 plastic and paper bags, food wrappers, caps and lids, glass and plastic bottles, plastic cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons, aluminum cans, straws and other items of debris. Most of all, the volunteers found cigarette butts – 2,189,252 of them to be exact.
Read MoreOut Standing in their Field
Standing in their field that day, the Warmingtons knew that the folks at the WCD would be able to help them with this gully as well.
Read MoreAs the Water Drop Rolls
Long envied for her crystal clear water, the lake uses her beauty and charm to convince Washington County Parks and the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District to build raingardens, porous pavement, a rock swale and native plantings to block a pesky suitor known locally as Polluted Runoff.
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East Metro Water 