County Road 6 Pond Retrofit

Overview

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is retrofitting an existing stormwater pond in Orono to improve water quality to downstream Long Lake. The project, mapped out in the collaborative Long Lake Creek Partnership Roadmap, will involve the addition of a sand filtration bench to improve water treatment capacity in the pond. Use of this improved technology will increase the pond’s ability to treat water from the surrounding area before it reaches Long Lake and maximize the pond’s water storage.

The County Road 6 Pond was constructed in 1998 to reduce sediment and nutrients flowing into Long Lake. In 2018, MCWD partnered with the Cities of Long Lake, Medina, and Orono, and the Long Lake Waters Association to conduct a subwatershed assessment identifying project opportunities in the region. In 2021, the County Road 6 Pond was identified as a near-term opportunity to increase regional treatment capacity and generate significant water quality benefits, especially as MCWD already owns and manages the pond.