St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is awarding approximately $1 million in grant funding to two local governments for water storage grants to improve water quality and to help make landscapes more resilient to severe weather events due to climate change. The Bois de Sioux Watershed District will receive one grant and Area II Minnesota River Basin Projects, Inc. will receive two grants. Associated work is slated to include a road crossing replacement to store more water upstream, a grade stabilization structure, flood retention improvements and other enhancements.
“Projects funded by the latest round of water storage grants will help reduce flooding and improve water quality by decreasing erosion downstream,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said. “Increasing water storage capacity offers benefits to both Minnesota farmers and communities.”
The state is experiencing more frequent and intense rainfall events, resulting in negative impacts to agriculture and infrastructure, significant erosion along riverbanks, and declining water quality. The state Legislature passed bipartisan legislation in 2021 allocating $2 million to BWSR to develop a water storage program to address these challenges. An additional $17 million was appropriated from the General Fund to support the program during this year’s legislative session.
More information about BWSR’s water storage program can be found here. Learn more about the state’s climate work by visiting climate.state.mn.us