LAKER PIONEER
The [Minnetrista City] council also approved a resolution supporting the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District’s acquisition of the property at 6300 Painter Road. According to David Abel, community development director, the 11.4-acre parcel presents an opportunity for regional water quality improvements affecting Jennings Bay on Lake Minnetonka.
While state law does not require city approval for MCWD to purchase the land, it does require public agencies to notify the city’s planning agency before acquiring any public property.
Kelly Cermak, project manager with MCWD, explained that the site lies within the Painter Creek Subwatershed, adjacent to MCWD’s existing strategic land holdings and other publicly owned conservation easements. It is identified in MCWD’s 2017 Watershed Management Plan as a priority for coordinated planning and capital investment due to its ecological significance and its role in phosphorus runoff to the impaired Jennings Bay.
Cermak noted that the seller reached out to MCWD, recalling the district’s interest in the property nearly 20 years ago, when it was acquiring parcels across the watershed for general conservation. Today, MCWD’s acquisition strategy is more targeted, focusing on sites where capital projects and water quality improvements can be implemented.
Cermak shared that the parcel’s roughly 1,500 feet of creek frontage makes it particularly attractive. She added that MCWD began watershed diagnostic work this year, which showed that the majority of the phosphorus originates upstream of the property. Since most of the phosphorus is dissolved, potential treatment options could include pumping water from the creek and removing phosphorus on the upper portion of the site using methods such as a sand-iron filter or an alum injection facility.
By Emma Lohman