Laserfiche WebLink
44 <br />Watersheds <br />Little Canada is located in the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD).The RWMWD is the <br />local governing unit established to protect the water resources located within its District.The District includes <br />the eastern portion of Ramsey County and the western portion of Washington County totaling roughly 56 <br />square miles.The RWMWD is part of the larger Mississippi River Watershed as its surface water ultimately <br />drains to the Mississippi River.The District updated and passed their Comprehensive Watershed Management <br />Plan in 2017. The City abides by the RWMWD’s Management Plan. <br />The RWMWD Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan outlines the existing water resources,issues <br />within the District,and sets forth goals and policies for the District for the next ten years.The main goals of the <br />set forth by the Management Plan for the District are: <br />1.Achieve quality surface after <br />2.Achieve healthy ecosystems <br />3.Manage risk of flooding <br />4.Support sustainable groundwater <br />5.Inform and empower communities <br />6.Manage organization effectively <br />The City will continue to work with the RWMWD to help achieve the outlined goals. <br />Lakes <br />The City of Little Canada contains a number of lakes and wetlands,and a stream.These water resources play <br />an integral role in the City’s water resource management by serving as retention basins for stormwater runoff, <br />providing natural filtration, and habitat. <br />In the late 1970s,the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)performed a public waters inventory <br />to indicate which lakes,wetlands,and watercourses the DNR has regulatory jurisdiction over.This created the <br />Public Waters Inventory,which was updated in 2017.Lakes identified as public are assigned a shoreland <br />management classification to attribute appropriate development standards to its many different types of <br />lakes. Lakes are divided into the following classifications based on a combination of factors: <br />Natural Environment Lakes usually have less than 150 total acres,less than 60 acres per mile of <br />shoreline,and less than three dwellings per mile of shoreline.They may have some winter kill of fish; <br />may have shallow, swamp shoreline; and are less than 15 feet deep. <br />Recreational Development Lakes usually have between 60 and 225 acres of water per mile of <br />shoreline, between three and 25 dwellings per mile of shoreline; and are more than 15 feet deep. <br />General Development Lakes usually have more than 225 acres of water per mile of shoreline and <br />25 dwellings per mile of shoreline and are more than 15 feet deep.