Welcome to Freshwater’s Member Hub

This member hub is a one-stop-shop for everything related to membership, plus some other great resources for protecting water in your life. If you enjoy Minnesota's waterways, you can make a difference by becoming a member of Freshwater. Thank you for being part of the Freshwater community!

Join, renew, or upgrade your membership today!

Sustaining Membership

Monthly sustaining membership - the BEST way to make a splash for water!

Become a monthly donor for as little as $5/month! Freshwater sustainers are a caring community of people dedicated to keeping our lakes and streams clean. Small, frequent gifts add up to protect water for the long-haul!

💧Our signature Minnesota Weatherguide Environment Calendar and Almanac! Sustaining members get their complimentary Weatherguide every year, shipped right to their homes in September.

💧 Access to key water news and information, from water saving tips to water policies to the latest science and research. Check out the Water Fast Facts below!

💧 Member-only discounts on Freshwater conferences and events such as our annual gala, Water Connects Us.

💧 A meaningful way to make a difference for the lifeblood of our communities, which can be so easy to take for granted! Your membership support is contributing to a future in which we all have clean, safe water.

Annual Membership

Annual memberships, also referred to as one-time memberships, begin at $50 for an individual and $100 for a family for a year. Annual members can choose to renew each year.

An annual gift helps Freshwater engage communities, conduct research, and advocate for change. Freshwater members protect water quality in Minnesota!

💧Our signature Minnesota Weatherguide Environment Calendar and Almanac! New or renewing members will receive their complimentary calendar at the time of their membership or renewal.

Tip: Don't want to worry about remembering to renew every year? Become a sustaining member and we'll automatically send you a calendar each year!

💧 Access to key water news and information, from water saving tips to water policies to the latest science and research. Check out the Water Fast Facts below!

💧 Member-only discounts on Freshwater conferences and events such as our annual gala, Water Connects Us.

💧 A meaningful way to make a difference for the lifeblood of our communities, which can be so easy to take for granted! Your membership support is contributing to a future in which we all have clean, safe water.

Corporate Membership

NEW! This new membership program offers corporate organizations and businesses the opportunity to support the protection and conservation of groundwater and surface water in Minnesota and beyond. 

These gifts are critical for Freshwater's work and they demonstrate to your employees and community a company culture that values giving back.

💧Elevate your company leadership in the water community.

💧 Show a commitment to water conservation.

💧 Attract and retain top talent to work at your company.

💧Highlight collaborations with water thought leaders, and support innovative research. 

💧 Support workforce initiatives to get more students into water careers.

💧 Additional benefits based on membership level.

Other ways to give

Freshwater offers a variety of ways to support the future of water in Minnesota and the Great Lakes Region.

Thanks to our Corporate Members

SCALE UP YOUR IMPACT

Click below to explore ways you can make a positive impact on water, starting with smaller impacts on the left and moving to greater impacts on the right.

arrow scale showing greater impact on the right side
ground zero2

GROUND ZERO

You can make a difference.

  • Mow your grass at three inches
  • Plant drought-tolerant plants and water only when needed
  • When it snows, shovel immediately and salt only when absolutely necessary
  • Rake leaves from your yard, sidewalk, gutter, and street
  • Adopt a storm drain
  • Become a Freshwater member
  • Install rain gardens
  • Slow down, notice, and record your connections with nature throughout the year. In partnership with Jeffers Foundation, Freshwater invites you to a guided journaling experience, Journaling through the Seasons.
a small group of people

GAINING SPEED

  • Hold an annual neighborhood rake and street sweep event
  • Work with businesses to reduce chloride use and impervious surfaces
  • Organize neighbors to adopt storm drains or a shoreline
  • Work with shoreline owners to create a natural buffer
  • Coordinate stormwater management practices across multiple properties
  • Adopt a shoreline with Adopt-a-River
large group of people

UP & RUNNING

  • Become a Minnesota Water Steward
  • Encourage new ordinances that protect water resources
  • Influence policy to promote green infrastructure
  • Write clean water strategies into city planning documents
  • Advocate to preserve scenic and natural areas
  • Institute a no-wake zone on a local lake
  • Support more pervious surfaces in development projects

WATER FAST FACTS

In Minnesota...

75 percent of drinking water and 90 percent of irrigation water is groundwater from aquifers.

Where does the water in your home come from?

 

According to the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center...

"we drink, wash, water, and flush about 315 billion gallons of groundwater a year. That's the equivalent of a half-million Olympic swimming pools or two-and-a-half Lake Minnetonkas."

How much water do you use everyday?

Do you...

drink bottled water because you consider tap water unsafe? Many brands of bottled water are simply filtered and treated tap water. Public drinking water supplies are subject to more intense government regulation than bottled water.

Skip the plastic bottled water and fill up at the tap!

Did you know...

a dripping faucet can waste as much 2,700 gallons of water annually and a leaking toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water daily.

When was the last time you checked your home for leaks?

The Mississippi River...

drains a watershed that covers 41 percent of the continental United States, or an area as large as 1.8 million square miles, which includes tributary rivers from 32 states and two Canadian provinces. Do you know which watershed you live in? Can you count the ways you protect water downstream?

Click here to find your watershed.

Did you know...

the Mississippi River is deeply tied to Indigenous culture in Minnesota. The Ojibwa's word for the river is Messipi, meaning big river. It is also called the Mee-zee-see-bee, meaning the father of waters.

WATER IN THE NEWS

Is your company losing money due to climate change? Consider moving to Minnesota (MinnPost)

New regional partnership to improve Great Lakes water quality (Manistee News Advocate)

Why advocates of an Olmsted County nitrate program want it broadened to other parts of the state (MinnPost)

Tolkkinen: Southeast Minnesota, it's past time to purify your well water (Star Tribune)

Wisconsin officials ask the public to report algal blooms in Lake Superior (Great Lakes Echo)

Colorado town admits high water bill are a problem, continue citing high usage among residents (CBS News)

Environmental groups face off with EPA to control manure pollution (Circle of Blue)

Campaign kicks off to keep Minnesota lottery tied to the environment (Duluth News Tribune)

New research finds ties between higher PFAS levels and eating caught fish, microwaved popcorn (Wisconsin Public Radio)

Missouri and the Midwest are gearing up for water fights fueled by climate change (St. Louis Public Radio)

Unchecked development, lax regulation push Minnesota lakeshores to the edge (Minnesota Public Radio)

How many manure spills is too many? St. Croix County residents scrutinize big farm's new owner (Minnpost)

Here’s the choice: Cheap McDonald’s fries or health of Anishinaabe village of Pine Point (Minnesota Reformer)

States challenge EPA rule to protect tribal treaty rights (Minnesota Public Radio)

Camelina is the crop of jet fuels and cleaner waters. But will farmers grow it? (Star Tribune)

Minnesota water bottling plant receiving millions in subsidies (Minnesota Reformer)

Four Minneapolis beaches close due to elevated E. coli levels (WCCO)

Flooded Minnesota communities begin to transition from fight to recovery (Minnesota Public Radio)

Northwest Iowa rivers are flooding homes and farms. Now the water is moving downstream (Iowa Public Radio)

Fight to fend off flooding continues as rivers keep rising to historic levels (Mankato Free Press)

Residents complain of water problems after Elko New Market pumping test (Minnesota Public Radio)

What the Legislature did to address nitrate contamination in Minnesota groundwater (Minnpost)

Environmental groups say Minnesota failed to stop polluters, should hold statehouse hearings on enforcement (Star Tribune)

Former 3M scientist talks PFAS and decadeslong corporate cover up (Minnesota Public Radio)

Homeowners face rising insurance rates amid costly climate change disasters (New York Times)

City of Toledo and others sue EPA over alleged failure to address harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie (Michigan Public Radio)

In Winona County, the tension between agriculture and water quality gets personal (Minnesota Reformer)

  Southeastern Minnesotans worry over state water pollution response (Star Tribune)

  Wisconsin loon decline spurred by more rain, less water clarity (Duluth News Tribune)

  At the other end of the Mississippi (Hometown News Source)

  Drought, heat and mismanagement make getting fresh water an increasingly tough task (Associated Press)

High nitrate levels in southeastern Minnesota prompt aid plan at state Capitol (Minnesota Public Radio)

  New report sparks questions and controversy over possible causes for Iowa "cancer crisis" (Circle of Blue)

These lakes are usually still frozen over. See how they look now. (Washington Post)

Study: Removing PFAS will cost more than current GDP at current emission rates (Minnesota Public Radio)

Ice-out officially declared on Lake Minnetonka (KARE 11)

Human's are depleting groundwater worldwide, but there are ways to replenish it (The Conversation)

MN House passed bill funding 101 environmental projects using lottery proceeds (Bluestem Prairie)

After Legionnaires' outbreak, Grand Rapids will consider chlorinating water (Minnesota Public Radio)

Court rulings give states new power to protect goundwater (New York Times)

Minnesota leaders must take steps to protect the quality of our water (MinnPost)

EPA approves year-round sales of higher ethanol blend in 8 Midwest states (Associated Press)

Minneapolis could save its 2040 Plan with an environmental review. Here's why it isn't interested. (Star Tribune)

Advisory group says Legislature's green energy ambitions may need to be scaled back (Minnesota Reformer)

How rethinking design could reduce the need for road salt (Minnesota Public Radio)

State says it will provide clean drinking water in southeast Minnesota, but offers no new curbs on farm pollution (Star Tribune)

Minnesota ice season will be one for the record books (Minnesota Public Radio)

The cost of freeing drinking water from 'forever chemicals' (Undark)

Indiana's plan to pipe in groundwater for microchip-making draws fire (New York Times)

Hold the salt: 67 Minnesota waterways now 'impaired' due to chloride (Minnesota Public Radio)

A year's worth of Minnesota road salt, visualized (Minnesota Reformer)

Tap or bottled? Advocates, dentists combat distrust of tap water (Sahan Journal)

Minnesota state officials come up with action plan to address nitrate pollution after an EPA directive (KSTP)

Dakota-led Owámniyomni Okhódayapi seeks to restore St. Anthony Falls area of the Mississippi (MinnPost)

Amid polluted water and climbing cancer rates, Iowa eyes farm chemicals (Circle of Blue)

Airlines race toward a future of powering their jets with corn (New York Times)

Are Wisconsin aquifers lower due to recent drought? (Wisconsin Public Radio)

Nitrate contamination of Minnesota waters shows little sign of going away, despite years of effort (Star Tribune)

Minnesota teachers learn new ways to bring nature into the classroom (Minnesota Public Radio)

Nitrate levels are often higher in the rural Midwest. How does this affect health? (Iowa Public Radio)

EPA to Minnesota: Take action to protect people from polluted wells in eight counties (Star Tribune)

Metro Detroit's rainy future (Planet Detroit)

A tangle of rules to protect America's water is falling short (New York Times)

Southeast Minnesota struggles for common ground on nitrate pollution as health worries rise (Minnesota Public Radio)

In remarkable turnaround, Minnesota cities consume much less water than decades ago (Star Tribune)

Native lands lack clean water protection, but more tribes are taking charge (Stateline)

As new farm bill gets drafted, some hope for changes to support sustainable farming (Minnesota Public Radio)

Perch Lake reconnects with St. Louis River Estuary (Duluth News Tribune)

Despite concerns, Natural Resources Board approves changes that seek to protect waterways (Wisconsin Public Radio)

Access to clean water is a key concern for most Americans, survey finds (Forbes)

Inundation and injustice: Flooding presents a formidable threat to the Great Lakes region (Ensia)

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SHARE YOUR WATER STORY & MEET YOUR COMMUNITY

We believe storytelling is one of the best ways to learn from each other's experiences and helps to foster shared appreciation. Each of us has a unique connection to water, whether inspired by a favorite lake or water-related hardships you experienced growing up, we want to hear your water stories.