Last week, the RPBCWD Board of Managers, Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), and staff got together to tour our District. This tour is a way for different members of our community to interact and learn more about our long-term projects & partnerships. Tour stops included North Lotus Lake Park, the newly constructed Chanhassen Civic Campus, Lake Susan Park, and the Eden Prairie City Center's low-salt design plan for the parking lot of the Police Department.

Applications are now open to join RPBCWD's Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC). We are looking for an active group of volunteers who are interested in serving as stewards for our lakes, creeks, and wetlands. As a member of the CAC, your role will be to advise and assist the watershed district’s Board of Managers as a representative of community interests. The CAC meets every other month with occasional guest speakers. New CAC members will begin their service in January 2027 and serve two-year terms.

The DNR has reported the results of a sample taken at Lake Susan in Chanhassen confirming the presence of zebra mussel veligers (microscopic, free-floating larva). The sample was collected as part of increased monitoring on Lake Susan due to its downstream connection to Lake Ann, where zebra mussels were first discovered in 2023. Lake Susan will now be added to the state’s Designated Infested Waters list for zebra mussels.

Monday, October 12th, 4:30 - 7 pm
Join us for a frightfully fun seed collection event! Stop by the Carver County Government Center to learn about native plants and how to safely and responsibly collect seeds. Take home whatever you collect and watch how your native garden grows! All ages are welcome at this family-friendly, drop-in event. Costumes encouraged!

Tuesday, October 27th, 6 - 8pm
Join RPBCWD to learn about how your HOA can improve stormwater management and save money! At this initial workshop for HOA leadership, attendees will learn about stormwater management and some of the common best management practices, their specific benefits, maintenance requirements, and why this is all important specifically to HOAs.

Help us clean our way to victory!
Through the end of November, RPBCWD and our neighboring watershed Nine Mile Creek Watershed District are competing to see which community can adopt and clean the most storm drains and make the biggest impact. We're falling behind and need your help to catch up!

Help us track the freeze and thaw of our lakes!
RPBCWD is looking for volunteers to help us track the ice-in and ice-out dates of the lakes within our District. These observations will help us track changes in the duration of our lakes' ice cover over time and help us understand the impact of ice duration on a lake's ecosystem.

Our Mini-Cost Share program provides a simple way to help individual residents add native plants to their yard. Up to $500 is available to RPBCWD residents, and there's still time to get roots in the ground! Planting spring ephemerals now before the ground freezes can give your garden an early pop of color next spring. Applications are due October 31st, and projects must be installed with project reports submitted by November 30th.

STEM on Tap is a monthly workshop series that connects STEM teachers with practitioners, resources, and each other. Each workshop takes place at a brewery in the southwest metro and features a different STEM practitioner and topic. Topics this year include PFAS, Indigenous ecological knowledge, soils & geology, aquatic plants, and the chemistry of lake management.