Coming together for a healthier Duck Lake
About the project
What happened
The Watershed District and the City of Eden Prairie are partnering to engage residents who live in Duck Lake's watershed to take action to protect clean water. The overall goal of the project is to help 25% of homes in the watershed get involved. We hope to install 10 residential raingardens, plant 50 trees, distribute 50 rainbarrels, and create 5 raingarden-in-a-box planters. The Watershed District and City are providing the designs and funding for projects, and our community participants are providing the space and care.
Summary
- Status: Active
- Start: 2019
- End: 2020
- Goals: 10 residential raingardens, 50 trees, 50 rain barrels, 5 planters
- Partners: City of Eden Prairie, Duck Lake watershed residents
Where
Duck Lake is located in Eden Prairie. The area of land that drains to Duck when it rains - its watershed - is 0.36 square-miles. Duck is a small, shallow lake, with a public canoe access.
Why it happened
The Watershed District’s 2018 Watershed Management Plan identified the need for a phosphorus load reduction project in the Duck Lake watershed (phosphorus is food for algae, the organisms that can turn lakes bright green in the summer). As this area is mostly residential we need to look to our community members to become project partners. Working with the City of Eden Prairie, the District developed a range of actions residents can take to be a part of the Duck Lake parnership project: raingardens, rain barrels, trees, and downspout planter boxes (raingarden-in-a-box). By embarking on this project together we will soak more water into the ground, filter pollution like phosphorus out, and help make Duck Lake healthy.
How it was done
The Watershed District and City are reaching out to all residents in the Duck Lake watershed to get involved. The Watershed District and City will provide the designs and funding for projects, and our community participants will provide the space and care. There are four different project options: raingardens, rain barrels, trees, and planters.
Raingardens
The watershed first did a survey to find the best locations for raingardens. A good location is one where there is ample space to put the garden, and water that can be directed into it. We are now reaching out to the residents who live at these locations to see if they are interested in participating. The raingardens will be paid for, designed, and constructed by the Watershed District and City. The homeowners will be responsible for maintaining their gardens over time.
Rain barrels, trees, and downspout planters
If your yard was not identified as one of the best raingarden locations, you can still participate. We are providing rain barrels, trees, and downspout planters as well. There are limited numbers of these, and interested Duck Lake watershed residents should sign up early!
Project Update
Thank you for signing up!
Mar 8, 2019
Thank you to everyone who signed-up to be a part of the partnership. Trees, rain barrels, and downspout planters are now closed. We are still accepting priority raingarden sign-ups. If you have already signed up, we'll be contacting you with next steps soon. Thank you for coming together for a healthy Duck Lake!