THE GREAT WATERSHED CLEAN-UP!
April 16-22, 2012
Follow a cigarette butt, emptey pop can, or candy wrapper tossed or blown into the street, and you’ll likely find it littering the bank of one of our streams or lakes. That’s because rain and melting snow flow from large areas into streams through the storm sewer system. The large area that funnels water into a stream is called a watershed. As water travels through the watershed it picks up debris and pollutants and carries them to the stream. If this land is polluted, our river will be too. That’s why your help in keeping the watershed clean is important.
The ten cities that are in the Shingle Creek and West Mississippi Watersheds —Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Crystal, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale—will celebrate Earth Day with the “Great Watershed Clean-Up” beginning Sunday, April 16th through Sunday, April 22nd. Hundreds of volunteers from Plymouth to the Mississippi River will walk along streams and lakes, in parks and along boulevards, picking up everything from pop cans to abandoned vehicles during the weeklong event. Organized in 2001, the goal of the event, which is sponsored by the Shingle Creek/West Mississippi Watershed Management Commissions, is to clean up the watersheds and educate participants about water quality.
Contact the Clean-up coordinator in your city to learn about the Clean-up event in your community and how you and your family can become involved.
Brooklyn Center:
Jenny Whiting – 763-585-7106
jwhiting@ci.brooklyn-center.mn.us
Shelley Schwaninger
sschwaninger@ci.brooklyn-center.mn.us
Brooklyn Park:
Mary Pat Black – 763-493-8344
marypat.black@brooklynpark.org
Champlin:
Roberta Colotti – 763-923-7111
rcolotti@ci.champlin.mn.us
Crystal:
Rick Rauen – 763-531-1158
rrauen@ci.crystal.mn.us
Maple Grove:
Deb Coss – 763-494-6535
dcoss@ci.maple-grove.mn.us
Minneapolis:
Arik Rudolph – 612-230-6484
arudolph@minneapolisparks.org
New Hope:
Shawn Markham – 763-592-6763
smarkham@ci.new-hope.mn.us
Osseo:
LeAnn Larson – 763-425-2624
llarson@ci.osseo.mn.us
Plymouth:
Marjorie Vigoren – 763-509-5081
mvigoren@ci.plymouth.mn.us
Robbinsdale:
Tom Marshall – 763-531-1252
tmarshall@ci.robbinsdale.mn.us
The main stem of Shingle Creek begins in Brooklyn Park and flows southeasterly to its confluence with the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Shingle Creek is formed at the junction of Bass Creek and Eagle Creek and is approximately 11 miles long. There are 16 lakes in the Shingle Creek watershed. The central portion of the West Mississippi watershed is drained by Oxbow Creek which flows easterly and then heads north, eventually outletting to the Mississippi River. The southern portion of the West Mississippi watershed is drained by the Edinbrook/Century Channel, which runs from TH 169 to Mattson Brook and from there to the Mississippi River. If this land is polluted, our river will be too.