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NEWSLETTER / OCTOBER 2022
Table of Contents:
Snowmelt System Installed at Columbia Heights City Hall
NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center Stormwater Project Nears Completion
Three Tips for Managing Your Leaf Litter
Grant Application Deadlines Approaching
Celebrating 50 Years of the Clean Water Act
MWMO Monitoring Team Installs New River Sensor Stations
Become a Minnesota Water Steward
MWMO Staff Updates
Weaving Water Workshop #7, Blue and YOU
Snowmelt System Installed at Columbia Heights City Hall
 A heated sidewalk snowmelt system will remove snow and ice from the pavement outside the new Columbia Heights City Hall, thanks in part to a grant from the MWMO.
The system circulates heated glycol through a series of pipes to prevent ice on sidewalks and driveways. Sensors monitor the sidewalk for moisture and temperature, allowing the system to operate automatically.
Snowmelt systems help prevent chloride pollution in Minnesota waterbodies by reducing the need for salt and other deicing chemicals. The system will also provide some cost savings to the city. Learn more on our project page.
NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center Stormwater Project Nears Completion
 A new stormwater storage and reuse system installed at an expanded NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center facility will recycle rainwater for use in the building’s toilets and urinals.
Crews installed a separate storage tank and a series of modular wetland systems on the south end of the building earlier this year. The water in that part of the system will be used for landscape irrigation.
An MWMO grant helped fund NorthPoint’s new green stormwater infrastructure, which also includes a raingarden and native plantings. Learn more on our project page.
Three Tips for Managing Your Leaf Litter
 Should you rake, mulch, or just leave your leaf litter behind as winter pollinator habitat? The answer depends largely on where it lies — and whether it will stay put over the winter.
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Rake up any leaves that pile up in the streets and gutters to keep them from clogging up stormdrains and leaching excess nutrients into our waterways.
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Leave behind any leaf litter that will remain firmly in place (such as in garden beds, raingardens, etc.). Pollinators will use them as habitat to survive the winter; make sure you wait until they’re done emerging (usually in late May) before you rake them up.
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You can mulch any leaves that fall on your turfgrass lawn. In fact, doing so will have the same effect as applying a round of store-bought fertilizer.
Looking for more earth-friendly fall yard care advice? Check out our updated Everything You Need to Know About Fall Yard Care blog post.
Grant Application Deadlines Approaching
 Deadlines are approaching for grant applications from the MWMO’s Stewardship Fund program.
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Action Grants are available to complete a water quality and stewardship project that is significant in scope and cost. Applications are due by Friday, Nov. 4.
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Community Grants are available for short-term or small-scale water quality projects. Applications are due by Friday, Dec. 2.
Contact Communications and Outreach Specialist Adam Flett for any questions on how to apply.
Celebrating 50 Years of the Clean Water Act
 In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, which established the framework for creating water quality standards and safeguarding water for drinking, swimming, fishing, and much more.
The MWMO is proud to join the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landmark legislation, which paved the way for dramatic improvements in the health of so many rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands.
Over the next year, in celebration of the Clean Water Act and appreciation of Minnesota’s own Clean Water Amendment, the MPCA will highlight the gains that have been made in water quality and actions every Minnesotan can do to preserve water quality now and into the future.
Learn more on the MPCA’s website.
MWMO Monitoring Team Installs New River Sensor Stations
 From left: Intern Madison DelCastillo, Environmental Specialist Eva Hanson, Water Resources Specialist Jim Rudolph, and Intern Wyatt Schulman. (Not pictured: Monitoring and Instrumentation Specialist Brian Jastram and Environmental Specialist Mary Thelen.)
A pair of new MWMO sensor stations will facilitate year-round monitoring of depth, temperature, and conductivity data from the Mississippi River.
The MWMO’s water quality monitoring staff recently finished installing the solar-powered, internet-connected systems and are now working to integrate their data streams into their database.
The systems are built around the low-cost, open-source EnviroDIY platform and the Mayfly data logger, which you can see demonstrated on our YouTube channel.
Learn more about our monitoring team’s work.
Become a Minnesota Water Steward
 The MWMO is now recruiting for its next class of Minnesota Water Stewards!
The Minnesota Water Stewards program is a volunteer program designed to equip community members with the knowledge and skills needed to improve water health at the grassroots level.
The MWMO will have spots reserved for traditional Stewards as well as the new Art for Water track. You must attend an information session in order to apply. Find out about the information sessions and apply at minnesotawaterstewards.org.
MWMO Staff Updates
Meet Our New Environmental Specialists!
 Eva Hanson (left) and Mary Thelen (right).
The MWMO is pleased to welcome Eva Hanson and Mary Thelen as our new environmental specialists. As members of our monitoring team, they will be helping us track water quality in the Mississippi River and local stormsewer systems as well as monitor green stormwater infrastructure.
Eva has a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of Minnesota, and she previously worked for the Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa and the Tree Trust. She was one of our interns this summer. (View her bio page.)
Mary has a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Spanish, both from the University of St. Thomas. She previously worked at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the University of St. Thomas' Biology Department. (View her bio page.)
Weaving Water Workshop #7, Blue and YOU
 When: November 19, 2022, 10 a.m.–Noon
Where: MWMO Stormwater Park and Learning Center
Bring yourself and all of the items you have created at past Weaving Water Workshops for a sharing celebration of what we’ve made. You may choose to add your work to the Personal Watersheds show or simply share-and-tell. Stations will be set up to explore indigo dyeing, hand stitching, and weaving on the SAORI loom.
You are invited to bring a small natural item (such as a stone or tiny driftwood) that you’ve collected from a waterside location. You can also explore the banks of the Mississippi at the MWMO (where great driftwood can be found). We will make a small pouch to wear or carry our waterside treasures in.
Click here to register.
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