In conjunction with the City of Roseville, the water protection project is being launched to protect Lake McCarrons by capturing pollution from storm water including phosphorus, heavy metals, and petroleum products.

“This project is particularly exciting because it will use state-of-art technology to monitor National Weather Service forecasts, then open and close valves to manage water levels within the cistern. The system will save up to 1.3 million gallons of drinking water a year by capturing, filtering and re-using the runoff as irrigation,” said Forrest Kelley, Regulatory and Construction Program Manager at CRWD.

The sustainability component of the project is not only a win for Lake McCarrons, but will benefit many parts of the area by reducing on-going erosion and allowing existing wetland systems to function more efficiently.

“The benefits of this project extend well beyond Lake McCarrons,” says Lonnie Brokke, City of Roseville Parks and Recreation Director. “At the Upper Villa Park area we expect to see reduced soil erosion and achieve additional cost savings by re-using stormwater for irrigation of the ballfield, creating a more sustainable system. This will be enjoyed by all the softball players and users of Villa Park.”

The $851,000 watershed improvement project is funded in part with Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy funds from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ($275,000) and Board of Water and Soil Resources ($360,000). The remaining costs are being shared by the City of Roseville and CRWD.

The clean water project has been carefully timed to minimize scheduling conflicts at the Upper Villa softball field and the B-Dale Club, which has served the community since 1961 sponsoring family and youth activities. B-Dale Club will remain open during construction.

Additional information about the project is available at www.capitolregionwd.org or contact Cathy Kennedy at 612-309-3951 or cathryn@cathrynkennedy.com.