In the news

This page contains recent news items, excerpts from recent articles, brief summaries of case studies, and more. If you are aware of a newsworthy event in the stormwater world, send us an email. We promise to give it a look.

Caution: Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

• Minnesota Public Radio aired a story on July 27 on green infrastructure. Minnesota rain gardens go bit to fight pollution, reuse water. The Argenta Hills development in Inver Grove Heights and other green infrastructure projects are highlighted in this story.
• The Minnesota Environmental Initiative presented an award to the Master Water Stewards for their work in environmental education. Master Water Stewards address urban runoff and engage community members to be part of the solution. The program is a partnership between the Freshwater Society and participating watershed districts.
• Trees, emerald ash borer (EAB), and urban tree diversity
  • The City of Minneapolis has developed a plan to address impacts from the emerald ash borer. Two important goals of this effort are the gradual replacement of all ash trees on Minneapolis property over the course of several years and replacement with a more diverse tree assemblage. This has both short term and long term advantages. In the short term, the gradual replacement will minimize negative impacts of tree loss to water quality. In the long term, a diverse urban forest will be more resistant to infestations such as EAB and Dutch Elm Disease. See the next bullet for more on diversity. For a quick overview of the Minneapolis effort, see their fact sheet.
  • Peter MacDonagh, who worked with us on updates to the manual, including the section on Trees, authored two articles on the importance of urban tree diversity. In addition to aesthetics, a diverse urban forest is more resistant to infestations such as the EAB and Dutch Elm Disease. Read the articles here [1],[2].
  • For more information on the importance of trees for stormwater management, water quality, and other benefits, see [3].
• 5 Eyewitness News has a story on the inside look at the new ballpark and features the water reuse project. Go to Eyewitness News for more information
• Minnesota Public Radio's Climate Adaption Series features a stormwater component. Stormwater program managers such as Christ Kleist in Duluth, Liz Stout in Minnetonka and Lois Eberhart in Minneapolis are featured in the story. For more information, go to Minnesota Public Radio
• The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) received an Environmental Impact ReScape award in October, 2014 from Minnesota Brownfields. The MWMO facility is a 1.26 acre site located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The site was remediated by removing 18,000 tons of debris fill. The cleanup and development created a recreational space with integrated stormwater management that includes vegetated swales, permeable pavers, infiltration basins, a green roof, rainwater gardens and rainwater reuse.
• Stormwater reuse at the Lowertown Ballpark