Keeping Our Water Clean

Storm Water Runoff

The City of Coon Rapids assists in educating the public on improving storm water quality within the city and areas downstream. All storm water runoff within the city eventually drains to the Mississippi River. There are numerous ponds and pipe systems throughout Coon Rapids that drain to creeks within the city such as:

  • Coon Creek
  • Pleasure Creek
  • Riverview Creek
  • Sand Creek
  • Spring Brook

Some drainage systems drain directly to the Mississippi River or Crooked Lake.

Get Involved

Everyone has a responsibility to take steps to keep our water resources clean. Please do your part to keep our surface waters clean! Here are some things you can do to help:

Household Waste

  • Never dump used motor oil, antifreeze, paint, etc. into storm drain inlets or ditches and ponds. If you see a neighbor or someone doing this, report it to the city immediately by calling the City Engineering Division at 763-767-6479 or call the police at 911.
  • Recycle these materials or properly dispose of them at a hazardous waste site. The Coon Rapids Recycling Center accepts some of these materials or you can take them to the Anoka County Hazardous Waste Facility.

Yard Waste

  • Keep lawn fertilizer off your driveway and the street as it will run directly to the storm drain system, which harms our local waters.
  • Keep grass clippings off the street and driveway. The grass not only causes plugging of storm drains (on the grates) but grass clippings impair water quality, causing excess phosphorus, which contributes to an overgrowth of algae.
  • Never dump leaves and grass clippings into ditches. This plugs up the drainage system and again, impairs water quality. The Anoka County Compost Site is located at 133rd Avenue and Hanson Boulevard and is a great place to take your excess leaves and grass clippings. Or you can pay for a yard waste service through your garbage hauler.

Runoff From City Roads

City Ordinance requires paved driveways. Unpaved areas erode into the street and the soil gets into the storm drain system where it plugs up the system and fill pond areas.

If you are doing any kind of building addition or landscaping work, keep dirt off of the driveway and street where it will get into the storm drain system. If dirt spills onto the street, sweep it up and contain it on your site. If erosion of soils is a problem, installation of a silt fence may be required along the street to contain the soils on site.