A century ago, the Mississippi River was declared dead. A survey of the river around the Twin Cities revealed only three fish — not three fish species, but three fish, period. In the years that followed, treatment plants and other measures were invented to reclaim what was an open sewer. Soon fish and other wildlife started to bounce back.
In this 100th year, many organizations are focusing public attention on their roles in protecting the river and other natural water bodies, through displays at events like “Rain to River” May 19 at the Northeast Recreation Center.
Mississippi River water is still not drinkable without the treatments in place. Only a tiny percentage of the earth’s water is fit for human consumption. Stormwater carries road salts, litter, bacteria, fallen leaves and chemicals from cars directly to the river, mostly through the pipes under our roads gathering water from storm drains. And that’s where the city of Minneapolis’ Surface Water and Sewers division of Public Works, which held the May 19 event, comes in.
Through a program supported by computer software and other resources at Hamline University, residents and businesses “Adopt-A-Drain” by committing to remove debris, weigh it, and log their hours. (Adopt-A-Drain is national, with other hosts in other states.)
In a fast-paced presentation, Haley Foster of the city’s Stormwater Education and Outreach Programs recognized various categories of residents and businesses, the hours and weight of material they removed from their adopted storm drains. In 2025, there were 4,126 participants, of whom 529 were new. They adopted 8,293 total drains, about a quarter of the city’s total, with 1,079 of those adoptions new in 2025.
Two people in the Mississippi River Watershed, Brook Lemm-Tabor and Keith Makila, were among the top collectors,. Compassionate Ocean Zen Center at 17th and Jefferson, was one of the top business partners, removing 326 pounds of debris from their adopted drains in 11.5 volunteer hours. A Northeast Middle School teacher’s efforts were highlighted.
Businesses and residents can reduce their stormwater fees — a portion of their utility bill — by installing recognized methods for controlling stormwater on their properties. These are known as BMPs or best management practices. For residents, that can mean rain gardens, pervious pavements, green roofs, or rainwater reuse beyond rain barrels. For businesses, the list is longer and the requirements are more stringent. Details can be found at https://bit.ly/49sQKy4.
Foster’s presentation touched on other ways that residents can minimize water pollution including stenciling storm drains with slogans like “sweep up – rake up – pick up – your street flows to the river.” Residents should use less or no salt on winter sidewalks, pick up pet waste, keep leaves, grass clippings and litter out of the streets, and report drainage problems to 311.
Among other event exhibitors was Metro Blooms. Their Blue Thumb program provides information on rain gardens, which help contain roof and sidewalk runoff on residential properties, naturally filter sediment out of the water and slow its flow. Pollinator-friendly plants contribute to river health by holding the soil from eroding and helping to return the ecosystem to what it was before the built-environment trappings of civilization invaded.
Questions can be answered through the city’s website, https://www.minneapolismn.gov, or email, waterresources@minneapolismn.gov.
Turtles are cultural symbols for their long lives and playing beneficial roles in nature. Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board brings this painted turtle to events to ask the public’s help in tracking turtles and helping them cross roads when safe to do so. If you see a turtle on land, report it at bit.ly/ReportATurtle. (Margo Ashmore)
One huge rain garden
The rain garden at Sheridan Memorial Park, after years of doing its job, retained so much sediment that the outflow pipe clogged. Alex Roth, a Sheridan neighborhood resident who has been shepherding a project to reclaim the riverbank in that area, told the Northeaster that the interested neighbors voted to cede stewardship of the rain garden back to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The park board dredged the garden to remove the sediment, and it is hoped and expected that the plants will soon fill back in.
While he is working on this project as an individual, Roth is employed is at Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR). FMR hosted one of the first occasions building interest for Sheridan Neighborhood Organization’s commitment that has shifted to focusing on returning the riverbank to its pre-development state. On the land between the park’s trail, down to the water—from the Broadway bridge to 16th Avenue NE—volunteers will be eliminating invasive non-native plants such as buckthorn, thistle and artemisia. Replacing them with native pollinator-friendly plants will be done gradually to avoid dirt erosion. The activity is funded in part by Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.
Invasive garlic mustard
European colonists planted garlic mustard, an herbal substitute for garlic. Like buckthorn which also arrived with the colonists who planted hedges, its seeds soon escaped their gardens. Now garlic mustard crowds out more beneficial plants with thousands of seeds bursting from every pod. Volunteers organized by FMR, teamed with Nicollet Island-East Bank Neighborhood Association, have almost eliminated the garlic mustard from the northern tip of Nicollet Island. That’s what the group found in their May 20 outing to pull plants by hand. The few they found were mostly tiny, and few gone to seed.
A week prior, volunteers found more robust stands of the weed an hour away at Hampton Woods, a wildlife management area near the south branch of the Vermillion River, a Mississippi tributary in Dakota County. When a volunteer asked why FMR organized this deep woods activity, the answer was that it’s in the watershed, it all affects the river.
Volunteer opportunities are posted at FMR.org.