Recognizing the relationship between our natural and built environments, the MCWD works in partnership with the public, private and civic sectors to help protect and improve our natural systems, make wise investments in public infrastructure and improve the quality of water and quality of life in our communities. In 2014 the MCWD Board of Managers formalized this partnership approach by adopting the policy "In Pursuit of a Balanced Urban Ecology in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed".

This policy guides future planning and District initiatives with the following three principles:

• We will join with others in pursuing our watershed management goals
• We will intensify and maintain our focus on high-priority projects
• We will be flexible and creative in adapting our practices to those of our partners

Read the full balanced urban ecology policy.

Here is a historical timeline of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (by year only). Use your mouse to drag the timeline to the left by clicking and holding in the white space above the years. Click each bubble for more information. View a larger timeline here.  

For generations, Minnesotans have valued and enjoyed the water bodies of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD). For early settlers, they were important transportation corridors and sources of food and water. In the late 1800s, Minnehaha Creek became an international tourist destination as a result of Longfellow's poem "Song of Hiawatha." And in the mid 1920s, Lake Minnetonka became home to one of Minnesota's earliest amusement parks, located just along its shore in current-day Excelsior.

Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is a local unit of government responsible for managing and protecting the water resources in one of the largest and most heavily-used urban watersheds in Minnesota.

The watershed stretches 178-square miles from St. Bonifacius to south Minneapolis and includes Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Creek, and Minnehaha Falls. It includes eight major creeks, 129 lakes, and thousands of wetlands. The MCWD also includes all or part of 27 cities and two townships in Hennepin and Carver counties.