Three local updates were recently published, including an announcement of a free watershed PREP class for educators to use, an update on the North and East Metro Groundwater Management Area, and the January 2021 Mississippi Watershed Management Organization newsletter. See below for brief descriptions of these updates and links to learn more!

The West Metro Watershed Alliance (WMWA) has created a created a video to replace their traditional in-classroom lesson “What is a Watershed?”. The video is called Watershed PREP, which is the name of the educational outreach initiative of the WMWA. The video is free for teachers to use in their classrooms, but the WMWA asks that they use their contact form to let them know the name of the school and how many students watched the video for tracking purposes. Learn more here!

The North and East Metro Groundwater Management Area (GWMA)* advisory group met back on November 13th, 2020, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recently sent out an update on the GWMA last week. The update discusses highlights from the last meeting including reflections on the GWMA’s accomplishments, water supply planning in the east metro, the Project 1007 investigation of PFAS, and looking ahead to the next steps for the GWMA. Read the full update here.

Lastly, the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) sent out their January 2021 newsletter last week. This year, the MWMO will be switching from a quarterly newsletter to a monthly newsletter. Many topics are discussed in the newsletter, including a project update on the Columbia Golf Course and Park Stormwater BMPs, Stewardship Fund Grant changes and application deadlines announced, upcoming professional trainings, the MAWD award for MWMO’s Sculpture Garden video, eco-friendly winter yard care tips, and the Watershed Management Plan update. Read the full newsletter here. Learn more about the MWMO on their website.

*The DNR has designated an area in the north and east portions of the metro region as the North & East Metro Groundwater Management Area (GWMA), which includes Washington and Ramsey counties, along with portions of Anoka and Hennepin counties. The Anoka County communities in this GWMA are Blaine, Centerville, Circle Pines, Columbia Heights, Columbus, Fridley, Hilltop, Lexington, Lino Lakes, and Spring Lake Park. The designation as a GWMA “allows a more comprehensive and focused approach to ensuring that groundwater supplies remain adequate to meet human needs, while protecting lakes, streams and wetlands”. For more information on the GWMA, click here to view it’s website.