The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District's mission is to collaborate with public and private partners to protect and improve land and water for current and future generations. The

Minnehaha Creek Minnehaha Creek ( dak, Mniȟáȟa Wakpádaŋ) is a 22-mile-long (35 km) tributary of the Mississippi River that flows east from Gray's Bay Dam on Lake Minnetonka through the suburban cities of Minnetonka, Hopkins, Saint Louis Park, and Edin ...

in its name refers to the water link from

Lake Minnetonka Lake Minnetonka (Dakota: ''Mní iá Tháŋka'') is a lake located about west-southwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lake Minnetonka has about 23 named bays and areas. The lake lies within Hennepin and Carver counties and is surrounded by 13 inc ...

to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The watershed is much bigger than a lake or creek, and includes 29 communities, and encompasses . It stretches west from about

Minnehaha Falls Minnehaha Park is a city park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and home to Minnehaha Falls and the lower reaches of Minnehaha Creek. Officially named Minnehaha Regional Park, it is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board syst ...

to Saint Bonifacius and north to Maple Plain. It includes 129 lakes and 8 major creeks in Hennepin and Carver counties. Some of the lakes in the district are:

Bde Maka Ska Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking tra ...

, Harriet,

Nokomis Nokomis is the name of Nanabozho's grandmother in the Ojibwe traditional stories and was the name of Hiawatha's grandmother in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ''The Song of Hiawatha'', which is a re-telling of the Nanabozho stories. Nokomis is ...

, Parley, Minnewashta and Katrina. Through collaborative planning, aligned investments, streamlined permitting, technical expertise and educating/engaging residents, the MCWD seeks to create a landscape of vibrant communities within the watershed. Established in 1967, the MCWD was created under the Minnesota Watershed District Act. The 1955 act charged watershed districts with integrating water management efforts among city, county and state agencies. Districts receive funding through local property taxes. The District's office is located in

Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. Its leadership is made up of seven Board Members and a Citizen Advisory Committee.

External links

Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
{{Coord, 44, 56, 18, N, 93, 28, 25, W, display=title Geography of Minnesota Watersheds of the United States Water organizations in the United States