Clean Water Strategy

At their September 2nd meeting, City Council approved a scope of work for technical services associated with coordination and planning for sediment treatments in select lakes and ponds as part of implementing the Clean Water Strategy vision.

The field component of the Score the Shore project is complete. We'll work on formatting the data and creating maps to share with people before the end of the year.

'Score The Shore' is a standardized evaluation tool developed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to evaluate shoreline habitat quality.

A healthy shoreline plays a critical role in maintaining a healthy lake—it helps filter runoff, reduce erosion, support aquatic habitat, and buffer human impacts. This shoreline evaluation project will help to target shoreline restoration and protection projects and outreach.

Shorelines adjacent to the following waterbodies will be scored;

• Lake Cornelia
• Lake Edina
• Mill Pond
• Arrowhead Lake
• Indianhead Lake
• Highland Lake
• Lake Nancy
• Melody Lake
• Mirror Lake
• Otto Pond

A summary of outcomes will be available by the end of the year.

Water quality monitoring will begin this month at Lake Nancy, Otto Pond, Melody Lake, and Highlands Lake. The goal is to establish a baseline condition in these waterbodies which could inform future management actions. This complements the monitoring already underway by others at Arrowhead Lake, Indianhead Lake, Mirror Lake, Lake Cornelia, Lake Edina, Nine Mile Creek, and Minnehaha Creek.

Earlier this week the City Council adopted the 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Plan which included funding for several Clean Water Strategy initiatives. Staff will begin scoping these up over the next several months.

Here's what's on the docket for new/expansion in 2025:

• Expand street sweeping
• Establish a monitoring program to augment the efforts of our watershed district partners
• Establish a fisheries management plan to augment the efforts of our watershed district partners
• Feasibility study and prioritization for sediment phosphorus control treatments

Updates will be provided on this page.

Staff have proposed expanding existing and adding new programs to advance the Clean Water Strategy in the 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Plan. The City Council will consider adopting the 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Plan at their December 17th meeting.

The Clean Water Strategy Report is available in the Documents section.

City Council approved the Clean Water Strategy Vision (values and goals) at their April 16th meeting.

Staff will take the following next steps;

• Finalize the Clean Water Strategy report.
• Program Clean Water activities and coordinate with the capital improvement planning process in 2024.
• Pursue quick wins including resources for engaging residents in purple loosestrife control in 2024.
• Evaluate accountability tools to communicate the clean water strategy, actions, and progress toward the vision.

Staff is recommending that Council approve the Clean Water Strategy Vision as well as the supporting values and goals. These are unchanged from the Council’s preview last month.

Key takeaways from the March 19th meeting;

• Strong support for the vision and goals.
• Desire to see progress toward clean water and be proud of what we have for water resources.
• Health was a strong theme – both in terms of exposure to harmful algal blooms and more generally in terms of access to nature and mental health.
• Interest in details (budget, time horizons, outcomes) and accountability measures.
• Support for prioritizing waterbodies and focusing actions.
• Actions should be aligned with the vision. Actions need to be specific and justified with the desired value/goal.
• Help people do their part. Engage residents. Provide resources for people, particularly for those that want to take action in areas that aren’t city priorities.
• More information about the land management program and its crossover with clean water is desired.

Staff will make a recommendation and City Council will make a decision on the Clean Water Strategy Vision at their April 16th meeting.

Staff previewed the Vision at the Council's March 19th meeting. You can view the presentation and discussion here: https://www.edinamn.gov/746/Watch-a-City-Meeting