On Oct. 9, the Metropolitan Council awarded a total of nearly $500,000 in stormwater management grants to five cities, one county, and one watershed district. The grants will support projects at redevelopment sites.
The Council received 15 grant applications requesting a total of more than $1 million.
“Many parts of the metro area were developed before stormwater treatment was required,” explained Judy Sventek, Council Water Resources manager. “Stormwater management retrofits are often difficult due to site constraints.
“Our grants give local governments an incentive to add stormwater treatment as properties are redeveloped,” she said. “We’re funding projects that could be replicated throughout the region.”
Projects use a variety of stormwater management techniques
Projects awarded in the 2019 grant round:
Village Green Stormwater and Community Garden Improvements — Fridley ($100,000)
The project will enhance a degraded and undersized stormwater infiltration basin at an apartment complex, resulting in reduced phosphorus and suspended solids discharges into Rice Creek.
Stormwater Reuse for Downtown Centerville — Centerville ($100,000)
The project will expand an existing stormwater reuse system to treat runoff from redevelopment in the city’s downtown area.
Autumn Ridge Participatory Landscape Design and Installation — Brooklyn Park ($73,787)
The project will install up to 10 raingardens on a 17-acre, 366-unit affordable housing complex. The raingardens will capture roof runoff and address flooding on the highly impervious site.
ECO Mosque — Hennepin County Public Works Department of Environment and Energy ($75,000)
The project will install a variety of stormwater management techniques to redirect water from a North Minneapolis-based mosque that is situated at a low point of property. The grant will help fund raingardens.
St. Hubert Catholic School Stormwater Retrofit — Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District ($75,000)
The project will retrofit a fully developed parcel in Chanhassen. Projects include installing tree trenches, stormwater storage, and parking lot improvements.
County Road 8 Trail Improvements and Stormwater Reuse — Hugo ($50,000)
Following reconstruction of a trail, the project will reconnect an existing irrigation system in order to reuse stormwater from a pond, resulting in reduced phosphorus, decreased groundwater demand, and reduced water volumes downstream.
Brooklyn Center Workforce and Senior Affordable Apartments — Brooklyn Center ($25,000)
The project will provide stormwater management at an apartment complex. It will result in stormwater runoff control that exceeds city and watershed requirements for the discharge rate leaving the site.
The 15 submitted grant applications were reviewed and ranked, based on published criteria, by a mixed internal and external panel.
“All the applications were good projects,” said Joe Mulcahy, Council scientist who served on the panel. “We wish we had enough resources to fund all of them.”
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