Monitoring a stream or lake, organizing a river cleanup, creating a rain garden, and stenciling storm drains are just a few of the ways that you can get involved in water-pollution prevention both in your neighborhood and with your organization.

Water quality monitoring for individuals and groups

Whether you are interested in lakes, rivers or wetlands, there is a volunteer water-quality monitoring program for you! These programs provide training, quality control and data management so that information collected is reliable and useful to water-resource managers. Click here (PDF) to download information about water-monitoring projects.

River cleanups

Want to become a guardian for your local lake, river, wetland or ravine? Through its "Adopt-A-River" program, the Department of Natural Resources offers information and resources to help volunteers who’d like to cleanup a Minnesota waterway and work for its on-going protection. More information.

Rain gardens

Rain gardens are small depressions designed to collect and soak up runoff from rooftops and paved areas. Planted to deep-rooted flowering native plants, rain gardens are also attractive landscaping features.

 

More rain gardens

Rain-garden projects in St. Paul’s Swede Hollow and Como Park neighborhoods. See Green Institute’s Web site.

The Fulton Neighborhood’s rain-garden project in Minneapolis. Visit Web site.

University of Wisconsin Extension’s Rain Garden How-To-Do Manual

Additional information about and links to community rain gardens.

Storm drain stenciling

Do you know where the storm drain goes? Many people don’t, and therefore use curbside storm drain inlets for dumping all sorts of waste – which then gets a direct ride to a near-by lake, river, or wetland. Storm drain stenciling involves painting the message "Dump No Waste – Drains To River" (or Lake, or Wetland) next to storm drain inlets. For information about organizing a storm drain stenciling event, click here.