Want to help protect our water resources? Here’s how:

6 Actions to Take at Home

  • Clean your curb: Storm drains carry polluted runoff from your street to nearby lakes and rivers. Keep leaves and grass out of streets and gutters; mulch or compost them to reduce organic debris in stormwater and prevent algae blooms
  • Cover loose soil and sand: Dirt, sand and clay displaced by erosion can carry pollutants and cloud our lakes and rivers. Make sure your landscaping keeps dirt where it belongs and cover exposed areas during rain and snow.
  • Scoop the Poop: Put pet waste in the trash; rain and snowmelt can carry harmful bacteria to lakes and rivers, using up oxygen that fish and wildlife need to survive
  • Lose the Litter: Pick up litter in your yard, street and gutter; floatable waste harms ecosystems and clogs water treatment facilities
  • Sweep the Salt: Remove snow and ice from driveways and sidewalks before salting; use sand when it’s below 15 degrees Fahrenheit and sweep up extra salt.
  • Go Native: Landscape with native species, drought-tolerant grasses and rain gardens that filter stormwater runoff before it reaches nearby lakes and rivers.

Help Us Make A Difference

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Adopt a Drain

If it’s in the street, then it ends up in our lakes, rivers and streams. Help us keep leaves, grass, salt, trash and dirt out of the stormwater system by adopting a drain in your neighborhood. In partnership with Hamline University, the City of St. Paul Public Works department, and the City of Roseville, Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) is sponsoring Adopt-a-Drain.org, where residents can sign up to sweep debris out of local storm drains. Join CRWD residents and help keep our water systems clean and clear.

adopt-a-drain.org/

Become a Minnesota Water Steward

Are you passionate about clean water? Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD), in partnership with Freshwater Society, offers a Minnesota Water Steward certification for District residents who are committed to our keeping lakes and rivers clean.

Developed by Freshwater Society in 2013, 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.

Stewards are certified by participating in a broad training curriculum designed by experts in the fields of hydrology, stormwater management and groundwater health, water policy, community-based social marketing, landscape assessment, and installation of clean water practices. At the end of the certification process, all Stewards complete a capstone project that improves the health of local water while involving and educating their community. Stewards then become a point of knowledge and influence in their communities.

Learn more about Minnesota Water Stewards

If you see something in your community that may negatively impact water—such as littering, erosion, or pollution—you can anonymously report it to CRWD.

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