Boom filters to help keep trash out of Lake Hiawatha
Freshwater has teamed up with several partner organizations to help clean up Lake Hiawatha through installation of a floating boom system that will capture trash that enters the lake through a storm sewer outfall.
When Freshwater was approached in October 2021 by River Network, a national network of water, justice and river advocates, with the possibility of funding under a grant from the Coca Cola Foundation to install a litter capture device in the Mississippi watershed, Lake Hiawatha immediately came to mind.
In collaboration with the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and the Friends of Lake Hiawatha, Freshwater has partnered with Osprey Initiative to create the customized capture system of floating booms and underwater netting.
Debris collected in this series of three booms will be sorted, recorded and disposed of properly by a trained maintenance team. The collected debris data will provide critical information the City can use to better understand the extent of the pollution problem, and to enact further measures to diminish pollution further upstream.
Installation event on June 3
The new trash capture system will be installed on Saturday, June 3, at 9 a.m. With support from CenterPoint Energy, Freshwater and partners will host a celebration and community-driven, large-scale cleanup around the lake that morning. In addition, an artistic installation of native plantings near the project site will be celebrated. Attendees will also have the opportunity to sign up to protect water in their own neighborhoods, through Adopt-a-Drain-Minnesota or Freshwater’s Adopt a River program.