Best Practice Action Detail

Best Practice Action 29.7

GreenStep City Best Practices: Resilient Economic and Community Development
Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience No. 29

Plan and prepare for extreme weather, adapt to changing climatic conditions, and foster stronger community connectedness and social and economic vitality.

Best Practice Action 7

Protect water supply and wastewater treatment facilities to reduce physical damage and sustain their function during extreme weather events.

  • EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative provides water utility managers with tools, training, and technical assistance needed to adapt to climate changes. Included is a link to CREAT - a risk-assessment tool which allows utility managers to do location-specific 2035 and 2060 projections of annual total precipitation, annual average temperature, precipitation intensity for the 100-year storm, and number of days per year with temperatures above 100ºF. 
    • See how the City of Faribault, one of 20 participants nationwide selected in 2015, used the Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) to assess the city’s infrastructure after  2010 and 2014 flooding events. 
  • The Federal Energy Management Program’s Technical Resilience Navigator (TRN) helps organizations manage the risk to critical missions from disruptions in energy and water services. It provides a systematic approach to identifying energy and water resiliency gaps and developing and prioritizing solutions that reduce risk. The TRN enables organizations to be proactive in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities to their critical energy and water systems to reduce outage impacts, and support continuous mission operations.
  • The Infrastructure Stress Transparency Tool created by the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor consolidates a variety of state and local data sources about the age, value and condition of community civil infrastructure (sewer, wastewater treatment, and drinking water) into a set of interactive maps to assist with planning needed investments.
  • See the Adaptation Strategies Guide for Water Utilities which includes sustainability briefs, examples of utilities implementing adaptation options, and worksheets to help with the planning process. 
  • Flood Resilience - A Basic Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities lets you click on Mitigation Options for helpful checklists of low-cost to expensive mitigation options for specific assets/operations including lift stations, headworks, treatment plants, instrumentation and electrical controls, power stations, buildings (relevant for other city buildings too), and more.
  • Drought Response and Recovery: A Basic Guide for Water Utilities covers staffing, response plans and funding, water supply and demand management, communication and partnerships. 
1 star Use the CREAT risk assessment (or the like) to help understand and adapt to extreme weather; take into account infrastructure stressors (such as age), updated precipitation data (Atlas 14), and climate change trends or projections.
2 star Implement low-cost strategies to reduce climate change risk and  increase resilience for operations or a specific asset (such as a lift station, headwork, water intake/distribution/storage, booster stations/pump, or treatment plant).
3 star Invest in medium to high-cost strategies that reduce climate change risk and increase resilience for operations or a specific asset.

Who's doing it

Kasson - 2 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2017 WWTP Expansion; 2019 addition of 2 pumps; new development retention ponds on-going
Implementation details:
1. 2017 Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion $4M construction of new retention basin to retain increased inflow and infiltration as a result of extreme weather events/rainfalls
2. 2019 acquisition of 2 AMT Bypass pumps In the event of flooding, use of the pumps will help prevent sewer backups throughout the community as a result of increased inflow and infiltration.
3. New development storm water retention pond construction
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
All three actions implemented to decrease flooding, backups, and inflow and infiltration issues related to extreme weather events and rainfall; protecting residential/business/and municipal infrastructure.
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Nancy Zaworski (City staff) | financedept@cityofkasson.com | 507-634-6321
Partners:
View All Kasson Actions
Brooklyn Center - 1 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2019
Implementation details:
Wells, largest lift stations and Water Treatment Plant now have on-site backup power generation.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Andrew Hogg (City staff) | ahogg@ci.brooklyn-center.mn.us | 763-569-3327
Partners:
View All Brooklyn Center Actions
Maplewood - 1 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
In January 2016 Maplewood launched the Energize Maplewood! Team Energy Challenge. This is one of the City's energy actions outlined in the Energize Maplewood! Energy Action Plan. The plan was drafted as part of the Partners in Energy Program, which is sponsored by Xcel Energy. The Team Energy Challenge includes 100 households that have formed teams to reduce energy use through conservation, energy efficiency improvements and utility rebate programs. Another component of the challenge is education, outreach, and special events.

At Fish Creek, the City's newest neighborhood preserve, partners and contractors restored over 22 acres of grassland to native prairie vegetation, and volunteers planted trees and prairie plugs.

The City works with school groups on service learning projects. Students from Century College and public schools in the area volunteer to plant trees and plant native plants or improve raingardens throughout the City.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Number of people participating in the energy challenge, number of energy efficiency improvements made, reduction in energy use. Number of people participating in programs to improve community assets (community gardens, urban trees, stormwater green infrastructure). Number of trees planted, raingardens planted or improved, or food produced from community gardens.
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links: www.maplewoodmn.gov/energychallenge
For more information contact:
Blank Blank (City Staff) | Blank | Blank
Partners: Xcel Energy, Maplewood Nature Center
View All Maplewood Actions
Pierz - 1 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
We partner with Rich Prairie Sewer and Water for our City Sewer and Water. They have alarms for different areas and alerts. Alarms go off for pumps not working, high/low water levels, and other risk factors that could damage the equipment.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Kari Tyson (City staff) | karit@pierzmn.org | 320-468-6471
Partners: Rich Prairie Sewer and Water District
View All Pierz Actions
Rush City - 1 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2019
Implementation details:
Rush City Public Works uses software to create alarms for different areas and alerts. Alarms go off for pumps not working, high/low water levels, and other risk factors that could damage the equipment. The City upgraded and expanded the system in 2019 to include all lift stations.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Amy Mell (City Staff) | amell@ci.rush-city.mn.us | 320-358-4743
Partners:
View All Rush City Actions
New Brighton - Pending
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2024
Implementation details:
Installed a 42" Storm Sewer line along 4th street NW. This will prevent flooding of local businesses in an area that was in a high flood risk. The new storm pipe greatly increases capacity of storm water events and directs straight to our storm water system located in Hansen Park.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Not yet, it was installed/ opened after the large rain events we had this summer.
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Craig Schlichting (City staff) | craig.schlichting@newbrightonmn.gov | 651-638-2056
Partners:
View All New Brighton Actions

Greenstep Advisor

Laura Millberg Caucasian with brown/gray shoulder-length hair and bangs to eyebrows. Brown eyes and dark rimmed glasses.

Laura Millberg, Climate Change Resilience Coordinator, MN Pollution Control Agency: 651/757-2568, laura.millberg@state.mn.us, https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/adapting-changing-climate