AT HOME WITH STORMWATER
Minneapolis landscape architects show how to keep stormwater in the neighborhood.

By Linda McIntyre

SRF Consulting Group, inc

How can designers keep stormwater in sight and in mind in residential neighborhoods, whether starting from scratch or retrofitting an older neighborhood?

Minneapolis may be a good place to find some answers to that question. Sustainability is an accepted and important part of public policy and the practice of landscape architecture in Minneapolis, and many residents are attuned to environmental issues. A stormwater management fee included on residents’ utility bills, along with widespread affection for their park system and numerous lakes and the city’s proximity to the Mississippi River, have helped to raise consciousness about water quality and the downstream impact of pollutants in runoff.

But two projects there aim to take the public’s relationship with stormwater even further, making treatment measures a visible part of their everyday lives. These projects show it’s possible, on a large or small scale, to use stormwater in innovative ways, as an aesthetic element or an educational tool.

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