Our mission is to protect, manage and improvethe water resources of the Capitol Region Watershed District.

2 Art in the watershed 3 Summer weather and Como Lake 3 New pervious parking lot BACK Green infrastructure for waterINSIDE

Capitol Region Watershed District Fall 2009

Capitol Region Watershed District 1410 Energy Park Drive, Suite 4 • St. Paul, MN 55108 • 651-644-8888 • www.capitolregionwd.org

by Alyssa Neeb, CRWD Education and Outreach Intern

If you pass the rain garden at the intersection of McKinley and Frankson Streets in the Como neighborhood, you may

have noticed a pair of women removing weeds on a sunny afternoon, or tending to small plants peeking out from melting snow in early spring. You may have thought they worked for the city of St. Paul, or CRWD; but they are your neighbors. Sharon Shinomiya and Valerie Cunningham both have particular interests that continue to draw them out to help tend to the rain garden.

Sharon, a 14-year Como resident, has always been interested in gardening. In addition to volunteering at the rain garden across the street from her home, she also tends the Midway Parkway gardens near the entrance to Como Park. Sha-ron especially enjoys her work in the community gardens because it gives her an opportunity to spend time outdoors, and she’d “much rather use that time to do something, rather than just sit around.” She also finds the gardening time fun and social since many neighbors stop by to chat or ask ques-tions about the plants and creatures found in the garden.

Sharon also has an interest in research and writing and spends free time tracing her family’s genealogy, as well as exploring the history of Como Park. Her effort in the rain gardens is certainly something that can be written into the history of the neighborhood itself.

Val became interested in gardening about 15 years ago when the popular interest in annuals began to transition to peren-nials. An avid birder and member of Audubon Society, Val has been busy this year conducting bird tours and surveys, some of which call for her to rise very early. She enjoys the early morning sun as it appears over the native prairie in natural areas where many bird species are found. She also finds that the rain gardens in her neighborhood are provid-

ing additional habitat and food for birds, animals and but-terflies. In her own yard, Val plants species that provide food, habitat or both to these critters. Her interest in birding and seeing other neighbors enjoying the garden draws her to work in the rain garden.

Both women feel the rain garden has added aesthetic appeal to the neighborhood, and also serves to increase the quality of stormwater going to Como Lake. When the idea of rain gardens was first introduced in 2005, there was speculation about their value to the neighborhood. Today, Val and Sharon say that their neighbors often comment on the gardens’ beauty and benefits: “The bluestem [little bluestem, a Min-nesota native grass] is a knockout,” Val explains, mentioning that passers often ask about grasses that retain their beauty throughout fall and winter. She hopes neighbors will notice and appreciate the native plants, and decide to incorporate them into their own urban landscapes.

Sharon and Val first became involved with Capitol Region Watershed District and its effort to maintain rain gardens in neighborhoods in 2005, when rain garden plans were introduced. Both women volunteer biweekly to supplement work done by District staff. Their careful work is apparent in the gardens’ beauty, and is greatly appreciated by CRWD and neighbors.

Gardeners share their love of plants with the neighborhood

Sharon Shinomiya in the Frankson McKinley garden.

2 Capitol Region Watershed District Fall 2009

Board of Managers: Robert P. Piram, President;Joe Collins; Marylyn Deneen; Mike Thienes;Seitu JonesStaff: Mark Doneux, Administrator; BobFossum, Water Resource Project Manager; Katie Huser, Water Resource Technician; Matt Loyas, Water Resource Technician; Forrest Kelley, Permit Coordinator; Anna Eleria, Water Resource Specialist; Dawn Nelson, Administrative Assistant; Melissa Bak-er, Water Resource Technician; Elizabeth Beckman, Education & Outreach Coordinator

Established in 1998, the Capitol Region Watershed District covers 40 square miles and includes portions of the cities of Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Maplewood, Roseville and St. Paul. Located within Ramsey County, it has a population of 245,000 people. The district drains to The Mississippi River, also its primary water resource. Como Lake, Crosby Lake, Loeb Lake and Lake McCarrons are also located in the District.

Capitol Region Watershed District 1410 Energy Park Drive, Suite 4 St. Paul, MN 55108 • 651-644-8888 • www.capitolregionwd.org

On May 19, the Capitol Region and Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed Districts cosponsored, with Public Art Saint Paul, a lecture by public artist

and landscape architect Cliff Garten. More than 120 people gathered at Har-riet Island’s Wiggington Pavillion on the Mississippi Riverfront to hear about Garten’s work in developing a public art plan for the City of Calgary’s Bow River Watershed. The lecture was followed on June 11 by a daylong workshop to establish the foundation for a public art plan for the watershed districts that serve the larger St. Paul area.

Seitu Jones, a distinguished public artist who also serves on the Board of Man-agers for Capitol Region, initiated the idea and approached Public Art Saint Paul in 2008 to partner in promoting a public art plan here. “I’m a water guy,” says Mark Doneux, Capitol Region’s administrator. “From Seitu I’ve come to see how art can assist the mission of the watershed district.” The impressively diverse group of scientists, educators, engineers, designers, public officials and artists who came together for the workshop agreed that the watershed has ex-pressive potential, and were visionary in brainstorming how that potential could be realized through a public art plan.

The workshop was held in the Great Hall of Metropolitan State University, overlooking the river valley from atop Dayton’s Bluff. Opening the workshop, Jones commented, “There was a time when engineers were taught art history and learned to draw, and when artists learned math. It’s time to work together as scientists and artists in this important cause – the awareness and protection of our precious waters.”

The fundamental work of watershed districts is to improve water quality, and control flooding and erosion. Working collaboratively in groups, participants imagined how public art can be an opportunity to express the dynamic of water and to envision the potential realities of cleaner water. Many watershed projects are invisible – below the ground. Here is an opportunity to make the invisible visible and understandable. They saw the opportunity for metaphors that transform materials and broaden the experience of natural places.

Next steps are for the watershed districts and Public Art Saint Paul to identify immediate opportunities for water quality improvement-public art collabora-tion, and to take a longer view by continuing to develop a more comprehensive watershed art plan.

Art in the watershed

Marcus Young, city of St. Paul Artist-in-Residence, addressed the June planning workshop participants.

Small groups brainstormed ideas.

Fall 2009 Capitol Region Watershed District 3

by Mike MacDonald, CRWD Citizen Advisory Committee

In east central and southeast Minne-sota, a long-term episode of dryness

began in mid-June and continued until late July. Long-term precipitation deficits in these areas range from eight to fourteen inches. In late July, Ramsey County was 14 inches below normal. At that time, the US Drought Monitor, which is published every Tuesday, listed Ramsey County as being in a severe drought (3 on a scale of 5). The dry weather has a dramatic impact on the levels of shallow lakes like Como Lake. Shallow lakes, generally defined as be-ing less than 15’ deep, are dependent on rainfall for water levels, so a reduction in rainfall means less water entering the lake. Como Lake receives stormwater runoff from an area 1,680 acres in size,

but if there is no rain, no water is run-ning off streets into storm drains and recharging the lake.

Even with very low rainfall this sum-mer, cool temperatures have allowed us to stay out of an extreme drought situation. Cool temperatures mean less evaporation, so any rainfall we do re-ceive stays in the soil. Shallow lakes are warmed up more by evaporation than are deep lakes, and this more intense warming evaporates more water. So, the cool temperatures this summer have preserved lake levels to a degree.

More plantsLower lake levels also means that plants in the lake are getting more sunlight and are better able to grow. Fertilizer and plant nutrients from grass clip-pings in the street have been carried to

the lake in stormwater runoff. Because there is less water in the lake, the nutri-ents are more concentrated so more the aquatic weeds in the lake grow more aggressively!

This summer, watch your fertilizer use and keep grass clippings out of the street. This little bit of urban house-keeping can make a more healthy lake, even in these dry times.

When the city of Falcon Heights considered upgrading their city

hall parking lot, they started looking for alternatives. Years of standing water and freeze-thaw cycles had made patching impossible for certain sections of the 25-year-old parking lot.

Replacing the existing parking lot with traditional asphalt was a possibil-ity, but a more exciting, durable and water quality friendly option was the installation of pervious pavement drive lanes. Grading would direct parking lot runoff to these areas. Parking lots, with their propensity to collect leaking automotive fluids, sediment and trash, greatly contribute to water pollution; when rainwater washes over parking lot surfaces it carries pollution directly to lakes and rivers via the storm drain

system. Falcon Heights city staff instead proposed a parking lot that would be constructed to divert rainwater from impervious surfaces toward drive lanes paved with pervious asphalt.

By capturing stormwater and allow-ing it to seep into the ground, pervious asphalt is becoming more commonly used as a way of reducing stormwater runoff and recharging groundwater. Pervious pavements reduce the need for stormwater retention ponds, swales and other stormwater management devices, which reduces long-term maintenance costs. Pervious pavement solutions are also among the Best Management Prac-tices (BMPs) recommended by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

The parking lot’s location in a high traffic area makes it easy for visitors to

see how this new technology works. Come check it out!

Summer weather and Como Lake

This pervious parking lot was funded in part by a grant from Capitol Region Watershed District.

CRWD partners with Falcon Heights on pervious parking lot

1410 Energy Park Drive, Suite 4St. Paul, MN 55108651-644-8888651-644-8894 faxwww.capitolregionwd.org

Part of the Clean Water Summit 2009 presented by the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in collaboration with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the Minnesota Land Trust

Friday, September 25, 2009, 8:30am – 4:00pm Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, MN

The Green Infrastructure for Clean Water conference aims to help communities and natural resource professionals better manage our land and water resources and maximize new funding opportunities. Session topics include: Rain Garden Mainte-nance, Green Streets Operations and Maintenance, Pervious Pavement, Water Quality Credits and Trading, Green Master Planning, and Green Infrastructure Financing.

What is Green Infrastructure?

Green infrastructure is an approach to stormwater management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. This approach aims to capture, infiltrate, and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrology. The preservation and restoration of natural landscapes such as forests, floodplains, and wetlands are critical components of green stormwater infrastructure. On a smaller scale, green infrastruc-ture includes such practices as rain gardens and porous pavement.

Staff of CRWD cities or district planning councils are eligible for scholarships. Contact Anna at CRWD: 651-644-8888 or anna@capitolregionwd.org.

More conference details: www.arboretum.umn.edu/symposiaandconferences.aspx

Green Infrastructure for Clean Water: Tools for Planning, Design and Maintenance

Green infrastructure is an approach to stormwa-ter management that is cost-effective, sustain-able, and environmentally friendly. Green roofs like this one in St. Paul are one green infrastruc-ture Best Management Practice.