Minnehaha Greenway - 325 Blake Road Stormwater Management Project

Over the last century, urbanization of the areas around Minnehaha Creek has degraded water quality in the iconic waterway. Ditching of the stream channel, loss of wetlands, bridge crossings and increased impervious surface have had a variety of negative effects on the ecological integrity of the creek: disrupted fluvial processes, increased runoff and pollutant loads, decreased infiltration, reduced baseflow, and fragmented and degraded in-stream and streambank habitat. As part of a larger comprehensive series of projects, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) made a strategic acquisition of land at 325 Blake Road, Hopkins MN, as part of a regional scale effort to establish to address the aforementioned surface water impairments and expand the Minnehaha Greenway - an area of restored stream, protected riparian area, community green space and vast trail network.

The 325 Blake Road Stormwater Management Project is designed to manage area-wide stormwater runoff volumes from over 260 acres in a manner that addresses pollutant loading to Minnehaha Creek and downstream Lake Hiawatha, reduces peak runoff rates, and improves baseflow in an expanded and restored section of riparian greenway. The project included in this application is for construction of the final phase, the onsite treatment facility. Two previous projects, Powell Road diversion and Lake Street diversion, have been constructed and complete the piped diversion of approximately 260 acres from two major drainage areas for discharge at the 325 Blake Road site. Once this final phase is complete the project is designed to reduce stormwater volumes by approximately 11.82 acre-feet and reduce total phosphorus loading by an estimated 181 lbs/yr through various stormwater practices (filtration and infiltration methods).