Completed Projects

Becker Park Infiltration

The City of Crystal completely renovated its popular Becker Park in the heart of the City's downtown. The new park includes an upgraded inclusive play area, performance lawn, multipurpose space for farmer's markets and gatherings, and a 72,000 square foot underground stormwater infiltration gallery. Over 1.4 miles of 72" diameter pipes are paced on a gravel bed and covered in soil. Stormwater is diverted from a storm sewer that runs through the park into these interlinked pipes, which hold the water until it can infiltrate, or sink into the ground. Sediment and pollutants is collected in an initial row of pipes that can be cleaned out periodically. This will reduce nutrients and sediment flowing through the storm sewer to Upper Twin Lake to the east.

Stormwater routed through this maze of pipes slowly filters through perforations and into a bedding layer of rock. That rock helps support the pipe and also provides additional storage in the void space between the individual rocks. The water then slowly soaks into the ground.

As part of the project the city of Brooklyn Park added an outdoor classroom. Students at Park Center High School have monitored this site since 1995.

Connections at Shingle Creek

The cities of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center teamed up to complete a stream restoration project on Shingle Creek, part in Brooklyn Center and part in Brooklyn Park. The project extends from Brooklyn Boulevard near Park Center High School eastward about 1,400 feet, to a small drop structure in Brookdale Park known humorously as "Monkey Falls." This project stabilized streambanks, added fish habitat, and improved water quality. Brooklyn Park is also filled in a missing trail segment between Brooklyn Boulevard and Noble Avenue N, and constructed an outdoor learning/viewing area with interpretive signage. A highlight of the project was the creation of a fish ladder at Monkey Falls, which is a two-foot drop structure in Brookdale Park. The fish ladder is a rock ramp on the downstream side of the structure,which allows fish to swim upstream by making a series of small jumps. This project received a $200,000 grant from the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment.

Twin Oak Pond

This 2010 project constructed a regional storm water pond in Twin Oak Park in the City of Crystal to treat runoff from a 500+ acre drainage area. A 66" trunk storm sewer in Bass Lake Road collects runoff from a wide area of Crystal and Hew Hope, and conveys it Upper Twin Lake in Crystal.  A manhole on that storm sewer was modified to divert the “first flush” of stormwater into the new Twin Oak Pond for detention and treatment.

Learn More:
Twin Oak Pond

Shingle Creek Restoration-Brooklyn Park Phases 1 and 2

In 2005-2006 the City of Brooklyn Park completed Phase I of a restoration project on Shingle Creek in Brooklyn Park, reconstructing about 2,300 feet of stream from the Hampshire Avenue N footbridge to Brooklyn Boulevard. Phase 2 of this project, which is upstream from Phase 1, was completed in 2010. This segment of the Creek flows through residential backyards, and was in better condition than the downstream segment.  

The project included improvements both on the streambanks and in the channel of the stream itself. Trees that were at risk of falling into the creek were removed, and the banks regraded and planted with native vegetation. Live stakes of willows and other species of woody shrubs were planted low on the banks to strengthen and stabilize them. A boulder toe was added to segments of the streambank to protect it from erosive forces. Three rock cross vanes and two j-vanes were added to provide stream reaeration and to redirect streamflow into the middle of the channel.