Building Green Infrastructure for the Protection of Ecosystems and Communities
GRAND MARAIS, MINNESOTA
Restoring natural areas with native plants will help the city of Grand Marais absorb stormwater and reduce flooding and runoff pollution into Lake Superior.
Lake Superior’s water is so clear, it’s almost entirely devoid of plant nutrients and other suspended material. As such, even slight changes are conspicuous. When the town of Grand Marais on the Superior coast realized their stormwater runoff was polluting the lake, they noticed and took action. “The people living on Lake Superior–it’s not lost on them that they live next to this pristine body of water,” says Philip Larson, conservation technician for Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District. “They want to protect their water,” he says. “People rally behind it.”
When rain falls on an urban environment, even a small one like Grand Marais (population: 1,337), it collects a lot of junk as gravity tugs it down to sea level. Oil from streets, bacteria from pet waste, fertilizer from lawns, sediment from soil eroding away–they all get washed down the storm drain along with the rain.
In Grand Marais, a city whose name means “Great Marsh,” most stormwater doesn’t drain directly into Lake Superior–it gets naturally filtered through creeks and retention ponds first. But climate change has brought more rain and snow melt than the creeks and ponds can handle, so stormwater overflow is now polluting the Great Lake of Superior.
Using funds from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, construction will begin this spring on updating part of the city’s green stormwater infrastructure, whereby natural features such as wetlands, trees, and riparian habitat capture and retain water, reducing flooding and filtering pollutants. The city will be enlarging one of the main stormwater ponds, one that collects water from 150 acres of the surrounding watershed, to handle the more frequent 100-year storms the city is now seeing. They’ll also be stabilizing its creek bed with indigenous plants like red-osier dogwood, nanny berry, and various species of local willow shrubs to better hold the soil and slow the rolling waters of the storm, greatly reducing erosion and, ultimately, sediment pollution in the lake.
Resource Challenges Addressed
Stormwater management, including record precipitation overloading current system
Invasive plant species unable to hold soil
Soil erosion around streams
Sediment and pollutants entering Lake Superior, especially near drinking water intake and recreation area
Key Partners
City of Grand Marais, Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, private partners including the Duluth Archaeology Center, Crawford Excavating, MSA Professional Services, and community members
Cost
$291,065
Types of Jobs Supported
Construction, landscaping, engineering, scientific research and investigation; government jobs related to this environmental protection program
Results and Accomplishments
This construction will result in enlarging one of the main stormwater ponds and stabilizing the creek bed with indigenous plants. These efforts will remove sediment and chemical pollutants from over 10 million gallons of water annually.
*This story is part of a GLRI success story packet that was used in the Coalition’s 2023 Great Lakes Days, with one story from each state in the region. Read the full packet
STORMWATER PONDS
Stormwater ponds like the one pictured above manage stormwater runoff by holding excess water during heavy storms, which allow pollutants to settle at the bottom and greatly reduce incidences of flooding.
Credit: City of Blaine, Minnesota
