How can you help to protect and improve water quality?

Even if you don't live on or near a lake, wetland, or creek (and especially if you do), there are many ways that you can protect and improve water quality without leaving home!

In most urban and suburban areas, your street connects to downstream lakes, wetlands, and streams through the storm sewer system. Water runs off your street and your yard rapidly through storm sewers carrying pollutants collected along the way, directly into our lakes and rivers.* So think about it: Because our streets connect directly to the water, we all own waterfront property!

 

*In older neighborhoods (pre mid 1980's), the storm drain goes directly from the street to the downstream water body without any kind of cleaning or other treatment. In newer neighborhoods, stormwater typically goes into a treatment pond, which is generally designed to remove about half the pollution that enters.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states Stormwater runoff is the number one water quality problem facing our nation today. Listed below are several ways that can you help reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality within our district:

Raingardens
Lawn and Garden Care, Rain Barrels
Shoreland/Streambanks
Wetlands
Porous Pavers
Green Roofs Other LID Practices MCWD
Low Impact Development Page

Raingardens

A raingarden is a landscaping feature that uses native perennial plants and to help manage stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces such as roofs, sidewalks, and parking lots.

So how do they work? Raingardens are designed with a shallow depression, so that when stormwater runs off a street or parking lot, it pools in the garden. Because these gardens use native plants that have long root systems, more water can be absorbed into the ground than it could in just a regular lawn with sod. The soil in raingardens also serves as a filter for any pollutants that might be picked up as water runs down the street.

Can anything be more satisfying than a fertile carpet of green grass?

Proper lawn care is essential to great water quality. If excessive fertilizer ends up in the street and storm sewers, it can create water quality problems. The same is true for lawn clippings, fallen leaves, and pesticides. When these materials wash into our waterways they bring with them excess nutrients and pollutants that can cause algae to bloom or damage water quality in other ways. So what then, is considered proper lawn care and how can you do it?

For starters , cut down on fertilizer and pesticide use. Most lawns don't need fertilizer, and pesticides can be harmful to children and pets. If you do use fertilizer, look for 0- phosphorus (it's the law in Minnesota!). When mowing your lawn, simply leave the grass clippings where they are. This acts as a natural fertilizer and reduces the need to add chemicals. Also be sure to keep an eye on where your clippings do end up. Make sure that they are swept up so they do not blown into the street, because they'll end up downstream, causing problems in your local lake, wetland, or stream.

Another important feature of lawn care is watering. Most lawns do not need to be watered very frequently, unless extremely hot and dry conditions persist.

There are many ways to cut down on pesticide use in your flower and vegetable gardens, too. Integrated pest management is an ecosystem-based strategy that uses a variety of techniques to manage insects and diseases, while reducing the impacts of harmful chemicals on wildlife, people, and the environment.

When watering your garden, try using water from a rain barrel. Rain barrels typically sit under a drain spout and collect rain and runoff from the roof of your home. This water can then be recycled for lawn irrigation.

For information on better lawn care, how to build or where to purchase a rain barrel, use the following links:

Low Impact Lawn Care
Rain Barrels - More than a Drop in the Bucket for Conservation
LILaC
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Shorelines and streambanks are important and intricate parts of aquatic ecosystems. Managing these areas properly is vital to the health of our lakes, rivers, and streams.

Erosion is a large problem that affects shoreline and streambanks, not only because the eroding sediment can fill in our water bodies, but also because areas that are wearing away are less stable and more likely to collapse. This is especially worrisome for homeowners that live near a creek.

Today many home owners use rip-rap and retaining walls to stabilize shorelines, but practices do not necessarily stop erosion, and they are costly. The best method for stabilization is to utilize native plantings because native plants have a longer root systems that provides strong support along the shore.

Here are more resources with information on creating a stable, natural shoreline:

Love your Lakeshore: Go Native (Six minute video, produced by Lake Minnetonka Garden Club)
Lake Friendly Living (MCWD pdf )
StreamSide Stewardship(MCWD pdf )
MN DNR: Shoreland Management

User's Guide to Shoreland Property
Streambank and Shoreline Stabilization and Naturalization
Shoreline Planting and Buffer Zone Implementation

Blue Thumb - Planting for Clean Water

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Wetlands

Wetlands are often known as bogs, marshes, cedar swamps, and potholes. They are unique areas that typically occur at the edge of aquatic and upland systems.  Wetlands can be wet year-round, or just during certain seasons. They are characterized by wet soils and they support vegetation, called hydrophytes, that are adapted to the damp conditions.  Cattails, wild rice, tamarack, and cedar trees all grow in wetlands. Many animals also make their home in wetland ecosystems. Some benefits wetlands provide are: habitat for birds and other wildlife, good water quality, flood damage reduction, erosion control, a healthy fish population, and a great place for recreation. 

When working near wetlands or planning to construct near a wetland, try to minimize the impact of development as much as possible. It is advisable to avoid building on or near a wetland entirely. For more in depth information, visit our Wetland Resources page.

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Porous Pavements

Are you ready to '"Pave the Way" with porous pavers?

Porous (or pervious/permeable) asphalt, concrete, and pavers are becoming more and more popular in construction practices, as they allow water to filter and flow through them, greatly decreasing the runoff problem. Asphalt and concrete are engineered to have extra spaces (pores) that allow water to trickle straight down at the point of contact and enter a storage area (a sand and gravel sub-base) beneath the surface. Pavers are basically bricks that are placed in such a manner that water runs off into the crevices and filters into a storage area.

These products can be used almost anywhere, commercially in large parking lots or on residential streets and driveways. They are designed to hold a large amount of water and to filter quickly.

Advances in Porous Pavement
Pervious Concrete Pavement
Pervious Pavement
Porous Asphalt Pavement with Recharge Beds: 20 Years and Still Working

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Green Roofs

Green roofs have been used for many years in European countries, and they are beginning to gain popularity here in the United States. They are simply roofs that are planted with plants (usually native species). Much like porous pavement for a roof, green roofs are designed to absorb, filter, and store stormwater. They also provide added insulation and can reduce building heating costs. Not only that, they are beautiful and provide a nice place to relax!

Green roofs, such as the one atop the Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center, are great places for employees to take a break and enjoy nature in an urban setting. Green roofs can also be installed on residential homes and garages, in addition to office buildings.

Check out the following pages for more information on the benefits of installing a green roof:

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Minnesota Green Roofs Council
Thinking Green
Urban Habitats

The Minnesota Green Roof Profile (pdf)

Vegetated Swales

Swales are vegetated water conveyance systems that filter pollutants from stormwater runoff. Typically, they are shallow and are not designed to handle a large amount of water. In addition, they are usually fairly flat and are planted with native species, as those are more resistant to high water flow. Swales are generally low maintenance and can be installed almost anywhere that development occurs.

Among the many benefits of vegetates swales, they also provide stabilization and prevent erosion, cost less to install than traditional curbs and gutters, and again, are much nicer to look at compared to concrete and asphalt.

The following are additional resources that outline the benefits of vegetated swales:

Massachusetts LID Toolkit
Rice Creek Best Management Practices
Grassed Swales

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