Leaders at the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities knew that area aquifers were not infinite and needed to be conserved to meet the needs of future generations.
They also have faced droughts in the past few years. Minnesota may be the state of 10,000 lakes, but the council wants to protect those lakes and other water sources so that today’s residents and future generations can use and enjoy them.
The Met Council, based in St. Paul, operates the region’s wastewater treatment systems and is responsible for long-range planning in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. The utility treats an average of 180 mgd of wastewater and has capacity to treat 251 mgd for the service area’s nearly 2.7 million residents.
Offering incentives
“Many regions across the country are facing the reality that groundwater is not an unlimited resource,” says Henry McCarthy, grant program coordinator. “We are working to ensure that development in our region does not outpace the ability of our aquifers to retain adequate supplies.”
To that end, the council created the Water Efficiency Grant Program to encourage customers to use water wisely and reduce demand on the groundwater. The council’s 2015 Master Water Supply Plan identified where water use was the greatest and pinpointed supply issues.
The council proposed the grant program to the Minnesota Legislature as a potential use of Clean Water Fund dollars. In 2015 the Legislature authorized the creation of a grant fund to help growing communities reduce water consumption and future infrastructure costs.
Federal support
The council collaborated with the U.S. EPA WaterSense program to help facilitate the grants. The utility promoted the low-cost purchase and installation of EPA WaterSense products for communities, reducing municipal water use. The partnership enables the council to promote to its communities the benefits of using WaterSense label products.
The funds are available to cities that either operate a municipal water system of their own or are served by another municipal system. The program also requires them to replace specified water-using devices with approved devices that use less water. For existing homes, some eligible items are:
- Toilets, shower heads, irrigation controllers and irrigation spray sprinkler bodies with WaterSense labeled models
- Irrigation system audit conducted by a WaterSense-approved professional
- Washing machine and dishwasher replacement with machines carrying the Energy Star label from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Municipalities are allowed to design their own programs,” says McCarthy. “Some may focus on a single device they are promoting, while others offer several device options for rebates.”
Traveling trailer
Besides promoting the Water Efficiency Grant program and water-saving ideas, the Met Council paid for a traveling education trailer using money from Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment funds. The University of Minnesota’s Turfgrass Science Team, which built the trailer, takes it to community events in the Twin Cities region.
The trailer enables the turfgrass team to inform community residents about topics including lawn water conservation, seeding, smart irrigation, bee lawns and more.
“After a long winter, residents look forward to the warm summer months,” says McCarthy. “More water tends to be used on their lawns. That increases the stress on water resources and supply systems, driving up costs and putting engineered water systems at risk.”
The trailer can be reserved free of charge for community events such as farmer’s markets, home expos and county fairs. A science team representative is available to speak at events. In 2023 alone, the trailer team visited and spoke at 25 neighborhood events.
Metrics and accolades
The Water Efficiency Grant Program has gone through three funding cycles, and a fourth began in July 2024. The Met Council’s Water Efficiency Grant program is saving a total of 200 million gallons of water per year. The council also partnered with 45 municipalities.
For its efforts, the Met Council received a 2023 Excellence Award in Promoting WaterSense from the EPA.
