Long Lake Waters Association

What We Do:

We are on a mission to protect and enhance the water quality within the Long Lake Watershed!

 

Did you know that the Long Lake Watershed is also the headwater for Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Creek?  And did you know that its water quality is critically impaired?​

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As a grassroots group, we work collaboratively to understand the relationship between the lake and the surrounding landscape, and develop effective strategies to improve the water quality of Long Lake and its watershed.  

 

Orono, Medina, and Long Lake -- working together to protect the Long Lake Watershed which flows directly into Lake Minnetonka.

Specifically, we look for opportunities to educate the community and form partnerships to collectively identify and support strategies that lead to enhanced water quality.

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Our Approach:

Our approach is fairly unusual, in that we recognize that the problems and issues degrading the water quality aren’t single source pollution points – they are come from the entire watershed, and they therefore have to be address on a watershed basis.  That is why we work in conjunction with the three cities within the watershed (Orono, Long Lake, and Medina) collaboratively, with support and guidance from the MCWD and the Freshwater Society, to design solutions that go beyond town boundary lines.  Like we learned in 7th grade science: it’s all connected!

 

Our Initiatives:

Our initiatives include hosting educational programs in the local Orono Schools, as well as an annual “Water Summit,” which brings in speakers and experts to engage the community. 

 

We also offer outreach booths at local events such as 2017 Corn Days, to spread the word about the declining water quality within the watershed, and offer education to the public about easy ways to protect the water.  

 

LLWA is also promoting volunteer opportunities such as lake monitoring, and invasive species detection, and we are seeking citizen volunteers to support those efforts.

 

We have begun an exciting 3-year project to radio track the migration of carp within the watershed in order to best understand and reduce the population.  

 

We continue to try and identify funds to drive efficient, collaborative solutions that will have a true impact on our water quality throughout the watershed.  

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We believe Education and Partnerships leads to Action.