Mark Doneux’s Dedication to Protecting Water
After a 39-year career, the last 21 years with Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD), Administrator Mark Doneux announced his upcoming retirement in May 2024. Mark has dedicated his nearly four-decade career to protecting water.
An Early Interest and Career in Water and the Environment
Mark’s interest in water began at a young age in Northfield, Minnesota, where he would explore the Spring Creek Marsh and go fishing on the Cannon River. Mark’s concern about the environment continued into college, with a degree in Land Reclamation from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1985. From there, he began his career in consulting, doing conservation planning for four counties in southwest Wisconsin and one of the first wetland restoration projects in Iowa. His consulting career continued in Milwaukee with more conservation planning, including a project that provided conservation plans for over a million acres of land in six counties in southwest Kansas. During his time as a consultant in Milwaukee, Mark began developing and implementing Lake Management Plans. From 1988 to 1995, Mark developed ten Lake Management Plans and implemented numerous lake improvement projects throughout Wisconsin. In 1995, Mark and his family moved back to Minnesota, where he began working as a water quality specialist for the Washington Conservation District in Stillwater. During that time, Mark began to work with watershed organizations throughout Washington County and to appreciate the value of managing water on a watershed basis.
From One to 25
In 2003, Mark became CRWD’s first full-time staff member and Administrator. Through his actions and support, CRWD grew from a small handful of staff leasing office space to an organization of 25 staff working in a District-owned building in Saint Paul’s Midway Neighborhood. CRWD’s new offices are LEED Gold certified and serve as a watershed education and demonstration center that helps to achieve water quality, outreach, and equity goals.
Innovations
CRWD leads the way
Mark’s unwavering support for innovation and partnerships led to many CRWD firsts. As an early adopter of infiltration for water quality, CRWD’s 15 years of implementing volume reduction rules has provided over 4.8 million cubic feet of treatment and helped bring to reality a five-mile integrated tree trench system, the longest of its kind in the country, along the Green Line light rail system. CRWD’s first significant capital improvement project brought multiple public entities together to protect Como Lake. The project addressed flooding issues for portions of the Como Golf Course through some of the first rain gardens and underground infiltration pipes in Saint Paul. It saved over $1 million compared to grey infrastructure approaches.
Recent projects
Recently, Mark has worked to advance rainwater harvesting and reuse initiatives at Allianz Field, CHS Field, the Highland Bridge development at the former Ford site, Upper Villa Park, and CRWD’s office. His commitment to new solutions in stormwater is exemplified in regional, sustainable treatment approaches that cross public/private boundaries to provide triple-bottom-line benefits, like at Highland Bridge, and “smart BMPs” that utilize web-based weather forecasting to reduce flooding and improve water quality.
Equity and Art
As the leader of Minnesota’s most densely populated and diverse watershed district, Mark led CRWD to create its first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan. During Mark’s tenure, CRWD also created a Watershed Artist in Residence Program that has engaged residents in new and creative ways.
Professional Achievement and Peer Recognition
Under Mark’s leadership, CRWD has been recognized numerous times for outstanding achievement on local and national levels. CRWD was recognized as the Water Environment Federation’s National Best Overall Phase II MS4 four times. CRWD won Minnesota Watersheds (Formerly Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts) Project of the Year three times and Program of the Year twice.
Professionally, Mark’s involvement as chair of the Water Environment Federation and the Central States Water Environment Association Stormwater Committees ensures Minnesota innovations influence practitioners nationwide and bring new ideas back to local professionals. Mark also served as co-chair of the Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) committee, which recommended a statewide 1.1-inch volume reduction standard and the MIDS Calculator. Mark also served as President of the Minnesota Association of Watershed Administrators.
On a personal level, Mark won the 2017 Central States Water Environment Association Sustainability and Green Infrastructure Award, the 2021 Central States Water Environment Association 7S Society Award (Sentral States Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers), the 2021 Water Environment Federation Volunteer Service Recognition, the 2022 Minnesota Association of Watershed Administrators Outstanding Watershed Administrator and, as a career highlight, won the 2023 University of Minnesota, Dave Ford Water Resources Award. On a community level, Minnesota United honored Mark in 2019 with the L’L’Etoileu Nord (Star of the North) recognition.
Conclusion
During Mark’s tenure, CRWD has successfully maintained the century-old Trout Brook storm sewer system, adopted and evolved cutting-edge regulations, built the most innovative stormwater management practices in the country, and significantly improved water quality in Como Lake; it is now cleaner than it has been in over 40 years.
Under Mark’s leadership, CRWD has made significant strides in protecting and improving water quality within the watershed and strengthening the organization to continue this vital work well into the future.
