Tour of Clean Water Projects

Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) hosts a tour each summer for our Community Advisory Committee (CAC). Members from the Board and CAC join staff and CRWD’s Water Stewards to tour select projects. This year’s tour, on July 17, visited Saint Paul’s Midway Peace Park, a boulevard rain garden in the Midway neighborhood, and McMurray Field, a future clean water project site.

The CAC aids the Board of Managers with organizational development, planning processes, and program implementation. The CAC strengthens the connections between CRWD and residents of our watershed. Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month and are open to the public.

We encourage all interested residents to learn more about the CAC and consider becoming members. To learn more, view the recruitment flyer PDF and CAC Application PDF.

Midway Peace Park

At the first tour stop, families are enjoying the water feature and playground. Forrest Kelley, Facility Management Division Manager, and Anna Eleria, Administrator, discussed the project. Anne Gardner, Lead Landscape Architect with City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation; Sophie Vorhoff, MN State Director with Trust for Public Land; Paul Creager, Friends of Midway Peace Park and Gordon Parks High School Teacher, and Jenny Keyser, Friends of Midway Peace Park, shared insights on the planning process and grassroots efforts to create the park. Many tourgoers took the opportunity to test out the playground’s slide.

The City of Saint Paul, in partnership with Trust for Public Land, Friends of Midway Peace Park, CRWD, and many other partners, converted underutilized land near University Avenue into a vibrant community greenspace, Midway Peace Park. The park in a once-empty lot is now a destination along the Green Line and an important local park for the neighborhood, area schools, and residents of the adjacent Skyline Tower.

The three-acre park includes:

  • A large field.
  • Walking paths.
  • Full-court basketball.
  • Multi-level playground.
  • Large rain gardens.
  • A signature stormwater feature.

The rain gardens have native plants that absorb stormwater runoff from the park and adjacent parking lot, allowing it to soak into the ground. Native plants also provide habitat for pollinators and wildlife. The unique stormwater channel next to the playground and lower walking path re-circulates pretreated stormwater from the upper rain garden. CRWD funded the stormwater channel and accompanying interpretive signage to raise awareness about stormwater and highlight it as a resource. Clean water projects at the park collect and filter 1.5 million gallons of runoff each year to prevent pollution from reaching the Mississippi River.

Boulevard Rain Gardens

The tour visited the boulevard curb-cut rain garden at the home of Johnathan Frost in Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood. Chris Kucek, Projects and Grants Specialist spoke about the curb-cut rain gardens CRWD has installed around the district. Homeowner Jonathan offered their experience with the grant process and the garden’s successes.

CRWD has been working with residents since 2005 to reduce polluted street runoff by building curb-cut rain gardens with homeowners, businesses, schools, and community organizations. Since 2005, CRWD has constructed over 330 curb-cut rain gardens that collect a combined 21.8 million gallons of stormwater each year. Curb-cut rain gardens soak up street runoff and help reduce local flooding while improving water quality in nearby lakes and providing pollinator habitat.

In a curb-cut rain garden, a carefully placed break in the curb diverts the water when it rains from the street into a beautiful garden filled with native plants. The roots of the native plants and soil microbes help break down pollutants in the water while it seeps deeper into the ground. You can apply for a curb-cut rain garden through our Clean Water Project Grants.

McMurray Field

The tour’s final stop is the site of a future stormwater treatment project to protect Como Lake. The City of Saint Paul and CRWD identified the McMurray Field complex within Como Regional Park as a potential location to divert stormwater from the sewer system to a water quality improvement project. Approximately 130 acres of highly developed land drain to McMurray Field before reaching Como Lake.

The tour gathered at the corner of the athletic fields along Lexington Avenue as Deputy Administrator Bob Fossum explained the plans to install a stormwater treatment system. CRWD and the City of Saint Paul are partnering to design a combination of stormwater treatment methods, including rain gardens in the parkland surrounding McMurray Field and a reuse system for irrigation of green spaces. This unique approach will reduce potable water use, improve the condition of park greenspaces, provide pollinator habitat, and protect Como Lake. CRWD was awarded a $950,000 Clean Water Fund grant through the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment to support the construction of the multimillion-dollar project.

What You Can Do

As this tour shows, CRWD constructs a wide variety of projects to improve water quality. We also rely on neighbors like you to help protect our lakes and the Mississippi River. Here are some actions you can 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.

Adopt a drain: Consider volunteering to adopt a storm drain near you and spending 15 minutes twice a month keeping it clean.

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.

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 and sand.

Go native: Landscape with native plants, grasses, and trees to filter stormwater runoff before it reaches nearby lakes and rivers.

 

A group of people standing on a landscaped terrace overlooking a rock-lined water feature. In the background, a large multi-story building under a clear sky.
The tour group checks out Midway Peace Park's unique stormwater channel which re-circulates pretreated stormwater from the park's upper rain garden.
A large, colorful educational sign titled
Beautiful interpretive signs in the park were created collaboratively with the City of Saint Paul – Parks and Recreation Department, Trust for Public Land, and a panel of residents for translations into several languages.
Five adults standing beside a park sign that reads
Speakers from organizations involved in creating Midway Peace Park shared their stories with the tour group. Left to right: Paul Creager, Friends of Midway Peace Park and Gordon Parks High School; Anne Gardner, City of Saint Paul; Jenny Keyser, Friends of Midway Peace Park; Anna Eleria, CRWD; and Sophie Vorhoff, Trust for Public Land.
Children playing on a rock-lined, terraced water feature surrounded by greenery as an adult looks on. The setting is in a park with a playground in the background. In the foreground, someone in a safety vest with the Capitol Region Watershed District logo is speaks to someone outside of the frame.
Clean water projects in Midway Peace Park collect and filter 1.5 million gallons of runoff each year to prevent pollution from reaching the Mississippi River.
A person stands addressing a group of attentive listeners gathered on a residential street with lush greenery of native plants under a clear sky.
Chris Kucek shares about CRWD's ongoing boulevard curb-cut rain garden program to reduce polluted water in our lakes and rivers.
A vibrant boulevard garden filled with yellow cone-flowers and green foliage throughout. In the background, residential street view can be seen, including parked cars and houses amidst lush trees.
The long roots of native plants in a curb-cut rain garden help soak up water.
A group of people gathered along a sidewalk next to a house, listening to a speaker standing in the street. The boulevard between them is full of green plants, flowers, and a tree, there is a 2-foot-wide break in the curb leading to the garden. Sunlight filters through the trees, creating a serene ambiance.
A carefully placed break in the curb diverts the water when it rains from the street into the curb-cut rain garden filled with native plants.
Group of people standing in a park, attentively listening to a speaker who is addressing them on a bright sunny day. The setting includes expansive green lawns and scattered trees.
Bob Fossum explains the plans to install a stormwater treatment system at McMurray Field in partnership with the City of Saint Paul.
A group of people standing in a park listening to a person giving a presentation. Baseball fields and a large field light post are in the background.
Approximately 130 acres of highly developed land drains to McMurray Field before reaching Como Lake, making it a good location for a water quality improvement project.