Northeast Storm Drain Challenge

10/20/2020

Wherever you live, leaves make great compost for your yards, but not for our lakes and rivers. Use your leaves as a blanket for perennial beds over the winter or mow over them and sprinkle them around the yard for a natural fertilizer.

Unfortunately, those same leaves decompose to cause toxic algae blooms in our bodies of water. Look around your neighborhood and make sure the storm drains are free of leaf debris. Oftentimes, the majority of leaves fall after the street sweepers come by. Do one last check before the season is over. Clean storm drains in autumn also prevent springtime flooding.

Leaves are litter. Although people think of leaves as natural debris, when they flow through storm drains and into waterways, they become a major problem.

10/02/2020

Hey Neighbors!

If you're interested in helping keeping our Mississippi River healthy, come join us for Storm Drain Clean Up Saturdays.

Audubon Neighborhood Association is hosting physically-distanced community clean ups of Audubon Neighborhood's storm drains! Through out the month of October, we'll be meeting each Saturday from 1-3 pm. Check out our events page for more info...
Our storm drains are directly connected to the Mississippi River. Keeping our storm drains clean keeps our River clean. Leaves, although natural, can be especially harmful since they add extra nutrients into the water that lead to toxic algae blooms.
This event is sponsored by Audubon Neighborhood Association, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, City of Minneapolis, and Adopt-a-Drain.org.

https://fb.me/e/1wQthVaQ5

09/09/2020

The mid-Challenge results are in!

146 new adopters in NE...210 new storm drains adopted...and over 1,400 pounds of waste collected! Woo hoo!

For the Number of New Adopters category:
Waite Park Neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis takes first place!

For the Number of New Storm Drains Adopted category:
Waite Park Neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis takes first place again!

For the Pounds of Waste Collected category:
Audubon Neighborhood Association wins this category with 309 pounds of waste collected!

Honorable Mention goes to Marshall Terrace Neighborhood who has seen an 11% increase in the number of storm drains adopted over the course of the Challenge!

09/04/2020

It's just sand, right? Well, actually that sand and sediment that gathers around the storm drain can have some pretty harmful affects on the Mississippi River.

"Sediment doesn’t pose a health threat for people, but it can increase water treatment costs for communities that get their drinking water from the river, Bosch said. Soil particles also can carry other pollutants, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, that can affect the river’s health.

And excess sediment can have an impact on the fish and bugs that live in the river, Bosch said. It can bury the riverbeds that fish use for spawning and reduce the amount of light that penetrates the water, depriving aquatic plants of sunlight.

In addition, soil particles absorb warmth from the sun, increasing the water temperature in streams and rivers."

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A new study released this week reports that significant efforts to reduce sediment will be needed for the Mississippi’s upper reaches to meet state water quality standards.

09/04/2020

Looking for a field trip? This looks like a fun mural to check out :)

08/29/2020

TRACK YOUR IMPACT! Reporting an estimated total of the debris you collect and entering it into your online account helps us so we can gauge the cumulative results of our work. And it's super easy!

1. Log into to your account at adopt-a-drain.org
2. Click on “track impact”
3. Estimate the total amount you’ve collected from all of your drains since you last reported.

So far over 230,000 pounds of debris has been collected!😱 Keep up the great work protecting and improving the quality of our water!

08/23/2020

Storm drain at the corner of 13th Ave NE and Buchanan St NE in the Columbia Park neighborhood in need of adoption.

08/19/2020

Grass clippings provide your lawn with a lot of great nutrients. However, those same grass clippings make their way from the side walk into a storm sewer then straight into the Mississippi River. Those same nutrients that help our grass grow also saw cause gross algae blooms in our lakes and rivers. Sweep it up and return the clippings to your yard to help protect our waterways.

The same principal applies to all those leaves and sticks we see piled up next to storm drains. Adopt a drain near you today to protect our River :)

adopt-a-drain.org

Sweeping grass clippings off of pavement after mowing is an important step in helping to prevent stormwater pollution. When they break down it releases phosphorus that feeds algae in our local waterways! Help keep our waterways clean by adopting your storm drain at adopt-a-drain.org.

08/17/2020

Storm drain at 28th Ave NE and Filmore St NE in the Audubon Park neighborhood in need of adoption!