As raingardens surged in popularity, local communities quickly realized how challenging it could be to keep these new gardens looking good and functioning properly.
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All articles filed in stormwater
10,000 Storm Drain Adopters in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
To date, nearly 10,000 Minnesotans have adopted 17,762 storm drains, and those volunteers have reported collecting 474,096 pounds of debris that would have otherwise ended up in our water.
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Street Sweepers to the Rescue
Cities use street sweepers to maintain a tidy appearance, but these machines can also be an important and cost-effective tool for reducing stormwater pollution.
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Holey Pavement
Conventional pavement is impermeable, which is a fancy way of saying that water does not soak through it when it rains. In contrast, porous pavement is holey – in a good way.
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Marine community works to revitalize village center and protect the St. Croix River
On Saturday, May 1, volunteers in Marine on St. Croix planted 1,500 native plants along a wetland to create a natural buffer that will help to hold the soil in place and guard against erosion.
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Mahtomedi Teacher Inspires Earth Day Action throughout the Year
Ms. Comfort, as her students know her, is a STEM specialist at Wildwood Elementary in Mahtomedi who is always looking for unique ways to teach her kids to protect the environment.
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Boring bureaucracy keeps the water clean
The U.S. EPA created the MS4 Program in 1990 to address the growing threat of stormwater pollution. In Minnesota, the program is administered by the MPCA and applies to roughly 300 cities, townships, counties, watershed districts, and large campuses such as universities, hospitals and prison complexes that operate their own private roads and stormwater drainage systems. This includes more than 20 permit holders in Washington County.
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Boy Scouts and Water Stewards help to create outdoor classrooms in Woodbury
South Washington Watershed District created its Campus Greening program two years ago to encourage schools and other large campuses to think holistically about how they can meet stormwater management requirements when expanding buildings and parking areas. At the Lake and Middleton campus, South Washington County Schools (District 844) worked with SWWD to convert 15 acres of turf to prairie, plant 200 trees, and create the two new outdoor classrooms.
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Water stewards inspire neighbors to take action and adopt storm drains
To date, Twin Cities’ residents have adopted 13,747 storm drains. However, only 530 of those are in Washington County. This fall, the East Metro Water Resource Education Program is encouraging people to adopt a storm drain in their neighborhood and join the movement to promote clean lakes, rivers and streams. To sign up, go to http://www.Adopt-a-Drain.org.
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The day the lake disappeared
Have you ever built a lake? William Newman did. When the construction company owner from Chicago moved to Delton, Wisconsin in 1926, he immediately bought all of the land along both sides of Dell Creek and set to work to create his lake. One year later, a 30-ft high dam and 1000-ft long dike blocked…
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East Metro Water 