Current status:

Carp management began in the summer of 2018. Sign up for subwatershed project update emails.

About this project: 

Over the next ten years, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD or District) and its partners will engage in one of the Twin Cities metro's largest habitat restoration and water quality enhancement projects: the restoration of 2,488 acres of in-lake habitat across 14 connected deep and shallow lakes and the creation of corridors of restored wetland and uplands in the Six Mile Creek-Halsted Bay Subwatershed (SMCHB), one of the largest tributaries to Lake Minnetonka. 

The SMCHB is one of the District's focal geographies. With our partners (listed below), we'll be working to align priorities and investments across agencies to accomplish large-scale habitat, corridor, and water resource restoration objectives, including larger-scale wetland restorations, additional rough fish management, in-lake and watershed phosphorus reduction, or others.

Managing the subwatershed's large population of common carp is the first phase in our comprehensive restoration of the SMCHB, which will restore 2,488 acres of shallow lake habitat, benefiting game and non-game fish species, improving wildlife habitat for waterfowl, and address water quality issues for the 14 lakes that are listed by the state as being impaired.

Current Status:

The MCWD Board of Managers approved the design of the flood repairs at their meeting on July 26, 2018. We will put the project out to bid in mid-August 2018. The Board of Managers plans to award the bid at their September 27, 2018 meeting, with construction beginning in October 2018 and running through June 2019.

There are additional flood damaged sites along the creek that will be addressed as part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail Master Plan. Visit their webpage for more information about the master planning process and to provide your feedback on their interactive map.

About this project:

In 2014, the Twin Cities saw the wettest first half of the year since modern day record keeping began in 1871. Coupled with a long winter and late snowmelt, this extreme precipitation led to record water levels and more than $1 million worth of damage along the six main streams in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD). For 83 consecutive days, Gray’s Bay Dam was unable to control water levels on Lake Minnetonka or Minnehaha Creek because of the high water levels. On June 23, 2014, Lake Minnetonka reached a record elevation of 931.11 feet above sea level, more than seven inches higher than the previous record, and Minnehaha Creek achieved a record flow of 889 cubic feet per second. Watch a video about the 2014 floods.

In the fall of 2014, MCWD completed a report that assessed flood damage on the District’s six major creeks, which was included in an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for funding assistance for creek repairs. MCWD received approximately $511,000 from FEMA for streambank repair along Minnehaha Creek within the City of Minneapolis.