Lately, green living techniques have been all over the media. Everyone is talking about what we can do to save the environment. You may have asked yourself “What simple things can I do to help?” Asphalt Specialties Co. is here to help you find the answer. With a custom rain garden, you can improve the aesthetics of your home, while also improving the water quality of your community. Rain gardens achieve this by capturing runoff water, and preventing it from flowing into our local rivers and streams. Because of these benefits in improved water quality, the state may even offer grants to help you with your building cost. Now all you have to think about is where you want your rain garden to go. To start the building process, just follow these simple steps:
- Decide where water is flowing and where you want to prevent water from going.
- Call Gopher State One-Call to check for utilities at 651-454-0002.
- Check soil for infiltration rates.
- Call us here at Asphalt Specialties Co. at 651-484-1696.
One of the great things about building a rain garden is that you are improving water quality. To reward, many government agencies of the Twin Cities offer grants to help with the cost of building your rain garden. Each water district differs, but some of them offer grants for up to half of the cost of building your rain garden! This includes the cost of equipment, mulch, plants, and anything else that has led to the price of building your rain garden. Here is a list of what some of the districts provide:
Chisago County- Contact Casey Thiel at casey.thiel@mn.nacdnet.net or (651)674-2333
Anoka County- Contact Nate Zwonitzer at nate.zwonitzer@anokaswcd.org or (763) 434-2030; covers up to 50% of cost, but grants are limited
Rice Creek Watershed District- Contact Kyle Axtell at kaxtell@ricecreek.org or (763) 398-3070
Vadnais Lake WMO- Contact Kristine Jenson at kristine.jenson@vlawmo.org or (651) 204-6074
Washington County- Contact Rusty Schmidt at rusty.schmidt@mnwcd.org or (651) 275-1136 x36
Ramsey County- Contact Ryan Johnson at ryan.johnson@co.ramsey.mn.us or (651) 266-7275
Hennepin County- Grants only available in listed watershed districts
Mississippi WMO- Contact Nancy Dilts at ndilts@mwmo.org or (651) 287-0948 x.208
Shingle Creek and West Mississippi WMO- Contact Judie Anderson at Judie@jass.biz or (763) 553-1144; grant funding for neighborhood groups in the amount of $1000
Minnehaha Creek WD- Contact Joe Barten at jbarten@minnehahacreek.org or (952) 641-4523
Nine Mile Creek WD- Contact Kevin Bigalke at kbigalke@ninemilecreek.org or (952) 835-2078
Lower Minnesota River WD- Contact Terry Schwalbe at terrys@lowermn.com or (952) 856-5880
Carver County- Contact Will Forbord at wforbord@co.carver.mn.us or (952) 466-5230 http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/LWS/docs/NEMO_BioRet_Packet1.pdf pg. 48-55
Scott County- Contact Dan Miller at dmiller@co.scott.mn.us or (952) 492-5425
Dakota County- Contact Mikael Isensee at mike.isensee@co.dakota.mn.us or (651) 480-7781 http://www.dakotacountyswcd.org/costshare.html
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