- Lawn Watering Wisdom
- 2024 Annual Activity Report
- Nitrate testing for private well owners and irrigators
- New video: VRWJPO/Lakeville Foxborough Park stormwater project
- Project updates: Grand Prairie water recycling, Firelight Way stormwater treatment
- Watershed Management Plan update
- Upcoming events
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Be Water Wise this summer
Learn from Greg!
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With summer arriving, we love spending time outside and playing on nicely-trimmed green lawns (like Greg in the video). Keeping lawns green requires water, of course, but how much?
The vast majority of our watershed residents rely on groundwater for drinking and at-home uses, either through city suppliers or private wells. When you water your lawn, you're using that same groundwater supply. Groundwater is a limited resource, and it's not free either. Home irrigation systems, in particular, can be a big source of leaks if not maintained.
Fortunately, lawns only need about one inch of water per week, which can be fulfilled by rainfall for many weeks of the year. Even if we fall into another drought, you can still keep your lawn happy with less water and save yourself some money on utility bills to boot.
Watch the video for some lawn water conservation tips, and take the Water Wise Pledge to commit to doing whatever you can to save groundwater! If you have an irrigation system, we recommend a periodic audit to make sure it's working efficiently.
*This video is part of a campaign funded in part by a Groundwater Protection Accelerated Implementation Grant from the Minnesota Department of Health, allocated from the Clean Water Fund, one of four funds established by the Minnesota Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment. Additional funds are provided by Dakota County, Dakota County SWCD, Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization (VRWJPO), Black Dog Watershed Management Organization, Eagan-Inver Grove Heights Watershed Management Organization, and Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization.
| | | New video highlights Foxborough Park stormwater improvements | |
In 2024, VRWJPO, Dakota County, and the City of Lakeville completed a significant stormwater treatment project in the City's Foxborough Park. The park encompasses an impaired stretch of North Creek and outlets a large portion of the untreated stormwater runoff in a 220-acre area.
As VRWJPO Water Resources Engineer Jeff Dunn explains in the video, partners installed a dry pond with a wet sedimentation forebay in the park, alongside previous North Creek channel improvements, to reduce total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) in the creek. A Clean Water Fund grant from the BWSR helped fund this project.
Thanks to the City of Lakeville Communications Department for filming and producing this video!
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Project updates: Water recycling and another hydrodynamic separator
The City of Lakeville, partnering with the VRWJPO, is constructing Grand Prairie Park, which will feature five multi-use athletic fields and a full-sized baseball diamond, plus the City’s first splashpad.
To help conserve the city's drinking water supply, the athletic fields will be irrigated by a stormwater harvest and reuse system. The park’s splash pad will use an underground recirculation tank for operation. Potable water will be pumped into the system, undergoing treatment to ensure the recirculated water remains safe for recreational use.
Timeline
- Late summer 2025 - Splash pad scheduled to open to the public with water recirculation system
- Spring 2026 - Stormwater harvest and reuse irrigation system to begin operation
Benefits
- The stormwater harvest and reuse system is estimated to save 10 million gallons of drinking water per year.
- The splash pad water recirculation system is estimated to save 12 million gallons of drinking water per year.
Costs & Contributions
- VRWJPO: $300,000
- City of Lakeville: $678,160
| Pictured: The water recirculation system for the Grand Prairie Park splash pad awaits installation. | |
During the 2024 Watershed-Based Implementation Funding (WBIF) planning process, the VRWJPO, in partnership with the City of Lakeville, proposed installing a hydrodynamic separator (HDS) on Firelight Way east of Greenridge Park to reduce sediment in stormwater runoff from this area. Since the runoff outlets to North Creek and eventually the Vermillion River, treatment can help address impairments in both water bodies. The VRWJPO has installed these types of devices at multiple project sites in recent years, including several in Lakeville.
An HDS is a stormwater device that uses cyclonic forces to remove pollutants in stormwater runoff, namely sediment. After sediment settles to the bottom of the device, public works staff can remove it using a hydrovac truck for transport to the City’s disposal site.
Timeline
- Installation planned for summer 2025
Benefits
- The project will result in an average annual removal of almost 1,900 lbs. of TSS per year from stormwater.
Costs & Contributions
- VRWJPO: $10,000
- Dakota County: $10,000
- City of Lakeville: $91,710
| | What we accomplished in 2024 | The Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization (VRWJPO) submits an activity and financial report to the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) each year as required by state rules. Our 2024 report is now available on our website, in full and with a summary highlighting the top results. Take a look! | Nitrate testing for irrigating farmers and private well owners | |
Dakota County is offering farmers who irrigate the opportunity to have their water tested for nitrate at several drop-in testing sessions this summer. Participants will receive their results within minutes and talk to experts at the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) on how to use their results to credit their irrigation water for nitrate, potentially leading to savings on fertilizer costs. This opportunity is also open to private well owners who would like to have their drinking water tested for nitrate.
Collect a sample of irrigation or well water and bring it to one of the drop-in sessions. Dates for the drop-in sessions, as well as more information about the program and sampling instructions, can be found here.
Contact Matt Belanger at 952-891-7132 with questions.
| Watershed Management Plan Update | |
VRWJPO staff have been diligently working to update the Watershed Management Plan (WMP) for the next 10 years.
After rigorous public engagement and prioritization exercises with the watershed's Joint Powers Board, Community Advisory Committee, and Technical Advisory Committee, the WMP's issue categories, goals, and objectives are complete. Each issue category will contain a set of planned actions in an implementation table and the estimated costs. Actions include things such as Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects, potential studies and assessments, and initiatives for the VRWJPO.
Following approval from the Joint Powers Board, we will release the draft plan for a 60-day comment period with state review agencies and other stakeholders, followed by an opportunity to respond to comments and a public hearing, likely in fall 2025. Stay posted on our website as we progress through these stages.
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Upcoming Events
Sunday, June 8 - VRWJPO at Dakota County Parks Take a Kid Fishing Day, 12-3 p.m. at Thompson County Park, 360 Butler Ave, West St. Paul
Friday, June 20 - South Branch Vermillion River Wild Parsnip Removal with Twin Cities Trout Unlimited, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at the South Branch VR Aquatic Management Area, Vermillion Township (register)
Saturday, June 21 - VRWJPO at Dakota County Fix-It Clinic, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Heritage Library, 20085 Heritage Drive, Lakeville
Monday, June 23 and Wednesday, June 25 - Landscaping for Clean Water Design Course, 6-8 p.m. at the Rosemount Public Works & Police Campus, 14041 Biscayne Ave., Rosemount (register)
Thursday, June 26 - Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Board Meeting, 1 p.m. at Dakota County Extension and Conservation Center
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