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Overview The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, with the aid of the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes Clean Water Partnership (CWP), took on an extensive seven-year initiative to improve water quality throughout the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. The result was a series of award-winning water quality improvement strategies implemented in some of the Twin Cities’ most- used […]

Overview Building on the success of the Big Island Restoration project, which stabilized shoreline at Orono’s Big Island Park, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) partnered with Three Rivers Park District to restore approximately 1,200 feet of shoreline on Park District land on the north side of Big Island. The project used natural shoreline anchors including […]

Overview In 2006, the City of Orono, the State of Minnesota, and Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) coordinated to buy 56 acres on the east side of Big Island on Lake Minnetonka to return part of the island to a natural state for the public to enjoy. MCWD restored 3,000 feet of severely eroded shoreline […]

Overview When Methodist Hospital approached Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) with a permit application for its new Heart and Vascular Center, both parties recognized opportunities to align goals. This sparked a collaboration between Park Nicollet and MCWD, and the two organizations began to explore how Minnehaha Creek could be celebrated as a focal point of […]

Overview The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD), partnered with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Minneapolis Veterans Home, the State of Minnesota, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement a three-phase, multi-year project to construct a series of improvements at Minnehaha Falls, a site that garners more than 850,000 people each year. […]

Overview In 2015, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) partnered with the City of Hopkins to restore and update Cottageville Park. The park expansion included the addition of a new park shelter, updated play area, community garden, trails, signage, and an underground regional stormwater treatment system. New vegetation along the creek prevents streambank erosion and creates […]

Overview In 2016, Hennepin County carried out road construction on Highway 101/Bushaway Road to add turn lanes and a bicycle/walking path. Highway 101 crosses Lake Minnetonka between Gray’s Bay and Wayzata Bay, so the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) recognized the opportunity to capitalize on the county’s construction work by protecting and improving shoreline along […]

Overview In 2011, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) identified a suite of improvements for Long Lake Creek, which flows from Long Lake to Tanager Lake, and drains into Lake Minnetonka’s Browns Bay. Tanager Lake is designated by the state as impaired for its nutrient concentrations. To improve the Long Lake Creek corridor, MCWD partnered […]

Overview Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) partnered with the City of Richfield to improve the water quality in Taft Lake and Legion Lake through a combination of project elements, including infiltration systems, a water treatment system to treat water from Taft Lake, native lakeshore buffers, and pre-treatment of runoff to Legion Lake. These strategies improve water […]

Overview The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) worked strategically with the City of Victoria to identify an opportunity to address water quality issues and provide new recreation space for the community in the Wassermann Lake Preserve.  The preserve connects the community of Victoria with the regional trail system through paved trails and a scenic boardwalk […]

Overview In partnership with the City of Hopkins and other public and private organizations, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is leading a restoration effort on five acres of a site at 325 Blake Road. The site will include stormwater features to treat polluted runoff from about 270 acres from three cities around the site, improving […]

Overview In coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and the City of Minneapolis, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) leveraged Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money to repair nine flood damage sites along Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis. These flood repair projects served as a precursor to and helped inform the MPRB’s Minnehaha […]