Upcoming Meetings & Project Updates
Upcoming Meetings
Full Council: The next meeting is Monday, December 18th (Topics: strategic planning; possible supplemental budget request for the Clean Water Fund). The packet from the November 20th meeting (topics: strategic planning; petition to EPA on nitrates in private wells) has been posted at our web site.
Policy Committee: The next meeting is Friday, December 22nd. (Topic: TBD.) The packet from the November 17th meeting (topics: Updated drainage policy statement) has been posted at our web site.
Budget & Outcomes Committee: The next meeting is Friday, December 1st (topic: Restoration evaluations and possible supplemental Clean Water Fund requests). The packet from the November 3rd meeting has been posted.
|
Update on Projects Supported by the Clean Water Fund
Stillwater Public Library’s We Are Water MN exhibit attracts visitors from across the state and the country | hometownsource.com: A national event brought visitors to Stillwater.
MPCA Smart Salting News - Fall 2023: All the chloride de-icer reduction news.
MnTAP Annual Report: Interns supported by the Clean Water Fund help businesses reduce their water use.
McLeod SWCD Water-quality Collaboration - YouTube: BWSR features a multi-purpose drainage management (MDM) grant to improve water quality in Winsted Lake.
Kernza, a climate-friendly grain, gets the attention of brewers, distillers: National Public Radio covers the perennial intermediate wheatgrass, including the need to build demand.
Tackling the 'big brown spot': Keeping fields in living cover could be path to reducing nitrate | MPR News: Story on using continuous living cover to protect drinking water.
Continous Living Cover Report and Webinar: From Friends of the Mississippi River-- "Developed by Friends of the Mississippi River, Ecotone Analytics and the Forever Green Partnership, we are pleased to share the recently completed report “Putting Down Roots: Analyzing the economic and environmental benefits of continuous living cover for Minnesota’s farmers, water and climate.” Please join us Monday, December 4th at noon for a free webinar presenting the report’s key conclusions and a Q&A with the authors."
Other Relevant Water News
Elevated lead levels found in some St. Paul homes, buildings (fox9.com): St. Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) in a press release said it found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in some homes and buildings, with tap water sampling showing 13 samples were above the 15 parts per billion action level for lead.
Nitrate contamination of Minnesota waters shows little sign of going away, despite years of effort (startribune.com): The Star Tribune sums up the nitrate issue in public and private drinking water sources.
MWMO Newsletter - November 2023: The Mississippi Water Management Organization (MWMO) in Minneapolis features some green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and a news story about stormwater reuse for Metro Transit bus washing.
Waterline: Winter 2023 - 2024 - MN Dept. of Health: Quarterly newsletter of the Drinking Water Protection Program.
How To Bring Back the Prairie, a Tiny Bit at a Time - Cool Green Science (nature.org): Minnesota example of using prairie strips.
Press release: Winona County residents win legal case to protect drinking water from pollution from large industrial feedlot | Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (mncenter.org): "A Minnesota court on Tuesday upheld Winona County’s ability to limit the size of large animal feedlots operating within its borders in order to protect residents’ drinking water from affiliated nitrate pollution due to its vulnerable karst geology."
MWMO Awards Grants to Support Greener Minneapolis Streets: "A pair of grants to the City of Minneapolis and one to nonprofit Southside Community Health Services will fund green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) features that will capture and treat polluted runoff, add public green space and habitat, and help reduce the urban heat island effect. The projects are located mainly within the Southside Green Zone — one of two designated areas of Minneapolis with high levels of environmental pollution and a history of racial, political, and economic marginalization."
|