Preserve Camp Coldwater CoalitionMinnehaha Creek Watershed District Dear Managers: The Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition urgently requests the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) to petition the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BOWSR) to change the MCWD boundary to include the Camp Coldwater watershed and Coldwater Spring. We are a coalition of neighborhood, business, environmental and religious groups focused on preserving the historic Camp Coldwater area. We recognize and appreciate your commitment and accomplishments to date in working towards your stated goal to enhance the water quality of the water resources within the Minnehaha Creek watershed. We believe your experience in this endeavor makes you eminently qualified and the logical choice to also manage the water resources of the neighboring Camp Coldwater area. Coldwater Spring is believed to be the last remaining free-flowing bedrock spring in Hennepin County. Other springs of this type have stopped flowing due to changes in their watersheds, including roadway construction. Coldwater Spring is now imminently threatened by construction activities associated with the reroute of Highway 55, scheduled to begin this spring. This activity just 400 feet west of the spring, threatens to disturb or cut the groundwater flow as it travels eastward to Coldwater Spring. This flow includes waters of the Minnehaha Creek watershed, waters that are now under your jurisdiction. The Camp Coldwater watershed has no local unit of government to protect or manage its water resources. The 15-year-old EIS and the 8-year-old EAW completed by MNDOT made no mention of Coldwater Spring. No detailed site-specific hydrogeologic study has been done on this area nor is any planned. As watershed managers you know firsthand of MNDOT’s insensitivity to groundwater flows, its inability and unwillingness to obtain baseline data, and non-compliant behavior regarding groundwater monitoring plans. MNDOT’s history of violations of your surface water management guidelines alone moved you to initiate daily site inspections. With this in mind, imagine the fate of this 10,000 year old treasure in the face of unsupervised and uncontrolled construction deadlines. As environmental stewards, can we watch this precious resource be rubbed out without acting? Watershed districts are established to protect and manage water resources based on hydrologic as opposed to political boundaries. While the Minnehaha Creek and the Camp Coldwater watersheds may not be directly connected via surface water flows, these areas are connected by shared groundwater flows. MNDOT's senior geologist, Chuck Howe, stated that the supply of water for the Coldwater Springs come from a vast recharge area extending as far west as Lake Minnetonka, which would include groundwater flow regimes within MCWD jurisdiction. We believe the supply area may be much smaller based on flow rate. However, until a detailed site-specific assessment is conducted the recharge zone cannot be defined The Camp Coldwater surface watershed is too small to form a new independent watershed district. The Lower Minnesota Watershed District is too far to the south, shares no common boundary with Camp Coldwater, and does not engage in enforcement activities. The MCWD is the logical unit of government to take on this special stewardship. Both the Minnehaha Creek and Camp Coldwater watersheds lie adjacent to each other as they flow to the Mississippi River sharing a contiguous boundary alignment. We know that our land is blessed with many human beings who share our concern and commitment, and work to preserve and defend our precious remaining natural resources. These people work at all levels of every local, county, state and federal entity acting on behalf of our shared environment, including MNDOT. From our discussions with BOWSR staff we know they look forward to receiving your petition and we feel confident that the BOWSR board will see its merits and act favorably on this boundary realignment. We believe the MCWD is best suited to take on this important responsibility and respectfully request that you take action at your Thursday, January 20, 2000 meeting to expeditiously initiate this important petition process. Please let us know how we can be of assistance in achieving our shared vision of protected waters from the falls to the springs. Sincerely, Jim Anderson |