Clean Water for your Home and Yard
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
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! This page has information about rain gardens, lawn and garden care tips, rainwater harvesting, porous pavers, green roofs, and more!
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/ManagingWateronYourProperty.php
How to Improve Water Quality
Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
Six things you can do to help save local lakes and wetlands, and a list of links for more information.
http://www.rwmwd.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={BC41288D-C707-4CB4-B920-531A89CB2B30}&DE
Keep Your Soil at Home
City of Duluth
Believe it or not, one of the biggest threats to our water quality is plain old dirt washing into our rivers, lakes and streams from lawns, roads, driveways and construction sites. This brochure includes what you can do to prevent erosion at home.
http://lakesuperiorstreams.org/stormwater/media/keepsoil2.jpg
Building Towards Cleaner Water: Cost Effective Ways to Protect Our Water When Building or Remodeling a Home
Clean Water MN/Metro WaterShed Partners
When remodeling your home or building an addition, why not make a few simple (and low cost) changes to help protect lakes, rivers and groundwater?
Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Minnesota’s Lakes and Streams
Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission
Minnesota is known for its abundance of water resources. However, the quality of Minnesota’s lakes, streams and wetlands is threatened by increasing development and pollution. Read this brochure to learn about ten easy ways that you can protect lakes and rivers.
http://www.shinglecreek.org/tenthingsbrochure.pdf
Stormwater Is Not Just Rain
Regional Stormwater Protection Team
This brochure features easy ways you can help prevent water pollution with information about the Lake Superior Watershed.
http://www.duluthstreams.org/stormwater/media/StormwaterBrochure2005FINAL.pdf
For Homeowners – Think and Act to Preserve Your Watershed
City of Eagan, MN
This site provides useful information on ways you can reduce runoff pollution on your property. These simple steps can positively impact the watershed in your area.
http://www.cityofeagan.com/live/page/asp?menu=2650
Rain Barrels
City of Eagan, MN
Learn how rain barrels can be used to save you money and water by collecting roof runoff. The site also explains how the use of a rain barrel can help reduce runoff pollution from reaching our lakes and rivers.
http://www.cityofeagan.com/live/page.asp?menu=10677
Water Stop
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
This website is a place for community members to learn how to be BLUE. Within this site you can learn how to keep your water clean, enjoy your water and preserve it for future generations.
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/waterstop_000.htm
Stormwater Management on Residential Lots
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
This guide provides information on stormwater pollutants and runoff, and offers ways to combat pollution on residential lots.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/ec707/build/ec707.pdf?redirected=true
Stormwater Management: Water Pollution and Our Own Yards
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
This publication is part of a series addressing stormwater issues and describes practices to reduce water pollution and conserve water resources by reducing the amount of pollutants and water runoff.
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1848/build/g1848.pdf?redirected=true
A Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater Management
Philadelphia Water Department
Learn what you can do on your property and in your community to improve the health of your watershed.
http://www.delawareestuary.org/pdf/HomeownersGuideSWMgmnt.pdf
Small Business Environmental Assistance Program – Low Impact Development
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Learn ways to reduce your business’s environmental impact and save money by using low impact development techniques.
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/programs/sbeap-lid.html
Water Resources – Put a ‘LID’ on it!
City of Blaine, MN
Learn about new low impact development or ‘LID’ techniques that can be used to decrease the impact on water, land, and resources during a development project.
http://www.ci.blaine.mn.us/index.cfm?id=900487
Minnesota Businesses for Clean Water
Minnesota Water-Lets Keep it Clean
Find information on how to keep our Minnesota lakes and rivers clean while saving your business money.
http://cleanwatermn.org/About-You/For-business.aspx
Stormwater Management
City of Rochester, MN
In summer 2009, the City of Rochester proudly launched Realize Raingardens Rochester, a cost share grant program to promote the installation of rain gardens in Rochester. This program was co-developed by a task force of interested citizens and City Public Works staff so that selected sites can be used to demonstrate how rain gardens slow, treat, and infiltrate storm water, while adding beauty to neighborhoods and creating habitat for song birds and butterflies.
http://www.rochesterstormwater.com/r_r_r.asp
Managing Rochester’s Storm Water
City of Rochester, MN
The site gives ways to protect and improve stormwater quality.
Protecting Rochester’s Water Is Your Business
City of Rochester, MN
This page gives tips for businesses to help keep stormwater clean.
Keeping Our Water Clean. How you can Help!
Carver County
Managing water resources requires the help of many individuals. Along with water treatment facilities, small practices and lifestyle habitats contribute greatly to the improvement of water quality and safety of water resources. This page is here to share information about everyday cautions you can take to help improve our water quality here in Carver County.
http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/LWS/how_you_can_help!!.asp
Household Hazardous Waste: Local Collection Programs
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
The site contains a map of hazardous waste collection facilities and county contact information for the state.
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/hhw/hhw-localprograms.html
Green Values Stormwater Calculator
Center for Neighborhood Technology
The Green Values Stormwater Toolbox aims to help people evaluate sustainable design opportunities. It is based on extensive research into the long-term costs and effectiveness of green infrastructure approaches.
http://logan.cnt.org//calculator/calculator.php
“Fowl Water” Rubber Ducky PSA & “PLOP” Fish Bowl PSA
Clean Water MN/Metro WaterShed Partners
These 30 second Public Service Announcements show the cumulative effect of multiple sources of pollution that become part of stormwater.
http://cleanwatermn.org/resources/Video—Voice.aspx
After the Storm
US Environmental Protection Agency
This site features a video produced by the Weather Channel that explores the issues of runoff.
http://epa.gov/weatherchannel/
Reduce Runoff: Slow it Down, Spread it out, Soak it in
US Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Botanic Garden produced this 9-minute online video that highlights green techniques such as rain gardens, green roofs and rain barrels to help manage stormwater runoff.
http://epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/video.html
Clean Water NJ: Multimedia Resources
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
The site contains videos, radio spots and PSA’s from the New Jersey Clean Water Campaign about nonpoint source pollution.
http://cleanwaternj.org/multimedia.html
MS4 Toolkit
Clean Water MN/Metro WaterShed Partners
This toolkit was designed to help you educate citizens, businesses, municipal staff and elected officials in your community about non-point source water pollution. Within this toolkit you will find sample brochures, newsletter articles, posters, videos and more.
http://cleanwatermn.org/About-You/MS4Toolkit.aspx
Stormwater Runoff
Minnesota Waters
As snow melts and rain washes across Minnesota’s landscape, it carries literally tons of pollutants.. As these waters collect sediment and debris, they’re no longer simple snowmelt or rainfall; they are stormwater, bringing much of the pollution from our driveways, yards, sidewalks and shorelines into nearby water bodes. Read more by clicking on the link below.
http://www.minnesotawaters.org/sites/default/files/publications/Stormwater%20Runoff.pdf
Low Impact Development Resources
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
Low Impact Development (LID) is an innovative, ecosystem-based approach to land development and stormwater management. LID’s goal is to mimic a site’s natural hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to its source, resulting in a ‘hydrologically functional’ landscape and a protected watershed. This page has information and resources about land development and stormwater management.
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/lid.php
Stormwater Best Management Practices
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
This fact sheet contains resources and links for stormwater best management practices such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, stormwater ponds, etc.
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/documents/BMPFactsheetgeneral.pdf
Pervious Pavement Maintenance
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
This fact sheet describes pervious pavement and the routine maintenance needed to keep it functioning properly.
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/documents/PerviousPavementMaintenance.pdf
Stormwater Pond Maintenance
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
This fact sheet describes routine maintenance needed to keep stormwater ponds functioning properly.
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/documents/StormwaterPondsMaintenance.pdf
Stormwater Treatment: Assessment and Maintenance
University of Minnesota
This website is an online manual that has been developed to help users assess the performance of and schedule maintenance for stormwater treatment practices. It is intended as a supplement to the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, which provides guidance for the design and installation of stormwater treatment practices.