Your Guide to CRWD Grants

Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) grant programs provide financial and technical assistance to help build and fund projects that protect local lakes and the Mississippi River and increase clean water knowledge and action.

Polluted runoff – stormwater that flows over impervious surfaces and into storm sewers – is a leading cause of water pollution in lakes and rivers, particularly in urban areas. Much of the land in CRWD is already developed and privately owned, so working with residents, non-profits, schools, businesses, and faith-based groups to build clean water projects is essential for improving water quality.

Overview of Grants Programs

Clean Water Project Grants

Clean Water Project Grants help build clean water projects that prevent stormwater pollution and promote water resource stewardship. What is a clean water project? Projects like rain gardens, rainwater reuse systems, shoreline restorations, permeable pavement, and green roofs are all considered clean water projects because they help prevent stormwater pollution and keep our waters clean.

CRWD can reimburse a percentage of eligible project costs up to the grant award amount. Grant awards typically range from $500 – $200,000, and applications are accepted year-round.

Clean Water Project Grant process

The total time from initial inquiry to a grant agreement is around four to six months.

Step 1: Review the Clean Water Project grants page, which includes grant guidelines, photos, and other information, and fill out an inquiry form.

Step 2: Two to four weeks after the inquiry form, CRWD staff will conduct a site visit to your property to map out potential projects. Spring is an excellent time for a site visit!

Step 3: Four to six weeks after a site visit, CRWD will send a clean water proposal with a list of potential projects for your site and their estimated cost.

Step 4: Review your clean water proposal and apply for a grant with your selected project(s).

Step 5: You’ll receive construction plans four to six weeks after application approval.

Step 6: Once the plans are in place, the final step before beginning your project is a grant agreement, which can take up to 45 business days, depending on the project.

Get started now by visiting the Clean Water Project Grants page.

Curb-cut Boulevard Rain Gardens

Curb-cut boulevard rain gardens collect stormwater runoff from the street via a break in the curb. CRWD manages the coordinated construction of bundled sites while working with our city partners. We’re accepting applications for the spring of 2025 curb-cut rain garden projects through October 2024.

Most potential curb-cut boulevard rain garden sites must meet these initial requirements:

  • Minimum 10-foot width and 20-foot length
  • Tree canopy does not extend over the site area
  • Curb and gutter are present

In addition, CRWD will evaluate each site individually. This evaluation will consider slopes and drainage areas and may require a utility locate to determine if there are conflicts that may impact design or installation.

Curb-cut Rain Garden Grant process

Step 1: Review the curb cut rain garden section on the Clean Water Project grants page and fill out an inquiry form.

Step 2: CRWD conducts a site visit to determine whether the property meets the requirements for a curb-cut rain garden.

Step 3: If the site is appropriate for a curb-cut rain garden, CRWD sends a design plan.

Step 4: CRWD coordinates the construction. Staff will communicate about the planned dates. Once construction and installation are completed, CRWD sends a statement with your portion of the cost-share, payable to CRWD.

Start by visiting the Curb Cut Boulevard Rain Gardens section on the Clean Water Project Grants page.

Clean Water Project Maintenance Grants

Creating stormwater improvements is only the first step in protecting the District’s water resources. Ongoing maintenance ensures that CRWD grant projects continue to capture and clean stormwater runoff. Maintenance Grants are available for eligible Clean Water Project Grant projects. The grant awards range from $200 -$2,000 annually for the project’s life, and applications are accepted year-round for past clean water projects.

Planning Grants

Planning Grants provide financial assistance for the feasibility and design of cost-effective and innovative clean water projects that protect and improve the water quality of waterbodies within CRWD. Typical projects funded through this program include feasibility studies and engineering services to identify, prioritize, and design capital improvement projects that benefit natural resources. Planning Grants will typically provide much of the information needed to apply for construction funds through CRWD’s Clean Water Project Grants program.

Eligible applicants include public, private, and non-profit organizations working on a project in CRWD. The average grant award is $10,000 – $20,000, and applications are accepted year-round.

You can learn more on the Planning Grants page.

Native Landscaping Grants

CRWD is working to increase grant projects throughout the District, emphasizing expansion in the Saint Anthony Hill, Trout Brook, and Phalen Creek subwatersheds. Those subwatersheds are a focus area because they have fewer grant projects than other portions of the District, and they overlap with communities of historically underrepresented groups, including people of color, immigrants, younger generations, and those living in poverty.

Native Landscape Grants provide technical and financial assistance to residents, non-profits, schools, businesses, and public agencies within CRWD’s Focus Area to build native landscape projects. These projects foster the expansion of native plant communities, provide pollinator habitat, and prevent stormwater pollution from entering our lakes and the Mississippi River.

Check the Focus Area Map to see if your property qualifies. The Native Landscape Grant is a one-time award of up to $1,000 for eligible project expenses, and there is no requirement to share the cost. The total time from application to a grant agreement is about one month.

Get started now by visiting the Native Landscape Grants page.

Partner Grants

Partner Grants fund programs and projects led by community, arts, and environmental organizations, schools, faith-based groups, and cities that increase clean water knowledge and actions of residents in CRWD. 2024 Partner Grantees include 14 local organizations leading a variety of programs like urban conservation and restoration activities, native seed collection and sharing events, and lake clean-ups.

Learn more on the Partner Grants page.

Four actions to protect clean water

We’re almost to the end, and you’re still here! High five! Did a grant program or two catch your attention? We hope so! But in the meantime, here are five things you can do to protect water that don’t involve digging a garden or installing a new project.

  1. Clean your curb: Keep leaves and grass out of streets and gutters to stop them from being carried to nearby lakes and rivers via storm drains. Organic debris in stormwater contributes to harmful algae blooms.
  2. Adopt a storm drain: Visit adopt-a-drain.org/ to find a storm drain near you and volunteer to clear it of trash and debris twice a month. Join nearly 13,000 people across Minnesota who’ve removed over 700,000 pounds of debris from over 22,000 storm drains!
  3. Scoop the poop: Put pet waste in the trash. Rain and snowmelt can carry harmful bacteria and nutrients from waste to lakes and rivers.
  4. Pick up trash: Collect litter in your yard, street, and gutter before rain carries it to a storm drain, which flows to our lakes and the Mississippi River.

 

Well-maintained backyard oblong basin garden with multiple rows of native plants set in dark mulch and a formation of smooth river rocks in the middle. A wooden fence and part of a house are visible in the background.
A residential rain garden that collects runoff from the roof.
A vibrant rain garden with yellow flowers and assorted native plants bordered by a sidewalk and a brick paved driveway with a drain grate leading to the garden. A sign in the middle of the garden says, “Rain Garden.
This rain garden collects runoff from the adjacent driveway.
A front yard of a house has a curved rain garden with spiky purple flowers and ornamental grasses surrounded by brown mulch. A small wooden bridge pathway cuts through the garden. In the background the yard with bright green turf grass slopes steeply to the sidewalk and boulevard.
This residential rain garden collects runoff from the roof via a drainpipe buried underground.
A manicured rain garden in a yard alongside a street with a break in the curb. The garden has a variety of native plants including tall grasses and shrubs, with a light blue informational sign and a wooden fence in the background.
A curb-cut boulevard rain garden collects runoff from the street.
A large rain garden fills the curved corner of a residential intersection with a break in the curb at both ends of the garden and a storm drain to the right of the center. A low, stone retaining wall separates the garden from the grassy yard behind it. The garden has rows of green native plants surrounded by mulch. The sky is cloudy and the street and garden are wet from rain.
This large curb-cut boulevard rain garden collects runoff from the street before the water flows to a nearby storm drain.
A rain garden with green native plants and tall red flowers in front of a single-story, cream colored stucco house with a driveway on the right. The garden has a sign saying,
A rain garden collects runoff from the front sidewalk and adjacent driveway.
Landscaped garden in front of a single-story house with a variety of native plants in a freshly mulched circular bed.
Native landscaping adds pollinator habitat to a front yard.
A well-maintained garden bordered by a winding stone border and decorative metal fence has green shrubs and several large, spiky pink and purple flowers surrounded by mulch. The garden is adjacent to a residential street with a mailbox, houses, and a driveway in the background.
This native landscaping helps soak up rain water before it flows to the street.
Three people wearing red life jackets on a calm lake on a sunny day, each in a separate yellow kayak, holding paddles above their heads in a celebratory gesture.
Urban Roots Youth Conservation Team are partially funded by a CRWD Partner Grant.
Three smiling people standing outdoors next to a parking lot at Como Lake in Saint Paul. There is a large pile of full black trash bags in front of them on the grass, in between waste and recycling bins.
Como Community Council Como Lake trash cleanups are funded by a CRWD Partner Grant.
A group of eleven volunteers, some wearing masks and gloves holding full, blue and black trash bags. Behind them are large rocks and bright green trees and bushes.
Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi conservation and restoration events are partially funded by a CRWD Partner Grant.
Outdoor community gathering with several people standing around a table covered with informational materials. Two individuals are holding papers, and another is engaged in conversation. A
MN SEED native plant seed collection and sharing events are funded by a CRWD Partner Grant.
A child crouched on the ground sweeping brown leaves and pine needles from a gutter into a dustpan on a residential street. There is a yard bin and a tipped-over children’s basketball hoop on the boulevard, with parked cars down the street in the background.
This young helper is cleaning the curb to prevent leaves and grass from flowing to our lakes and the Mississippi River.