Golden Valley’s Environmental Initiatives Focus on Water Quality
The City of Golden Valley will partner on several projects and programs this spring and summer in hopes of shoring up water quality and improving the ecosystem around some of its parks and trails.
This map shows areas of stream restoration projects along Bassett Creek, including the upcoming project in Golden Valley at top right.
Stream Restoration Project – Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ/Bassett Creek
The city will work with the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission on 7,000 feet of the waterway between Regent Avenue and Golden Valley Road to better maintain the eroding shoreline to help save trees and create a more eco-friendly path for the creek, which leads to the Mississippi River.
“The banks are very steep or undercut and they’re sloughing in, and what happens is the creek just widens over time, and erodes to the point where it exposes tree roots,” said City of Golden Valley Environmental Resources Supervisor Eric Eckman. “Those trees fall down. Those trees and branches become obstructions that can cause flooding and flood damages. So we’re hoping to sop that excessive erosion.” He said the process will involve the installation of coconut fiber logs, stone, and natural vegetation native to the area to better align the creek and keep trees in place as best they can. He said previous restoration projects at different points along Bassett Creek have proven successful in the past 10-20 years.
The plan is still in the design phase, and city leaders hope to hold public engagement sessions in-person and online to best gauge what people want to see happen. Work on the creek should begin later this year and continue into 2026, Eckman said.
“The project team? We only know so much,” said Eckman. “Residents and park users are the ones that are here experiencing the stream and the wetlands, and so they know firsthand what some of the issues and some of the challenges are, and what some of the opportunities are, so we need to hear from people.”
Wetlands surrounding South Rice Pond at Sochacki Park in Golden Valley.
Sochacki Park Water Quality Improvement Project
The City of Golden Valley will work with the City of Robbinsdale and the Three Rivers Park District on improvements to the ponds and surrounding wetlands in the park, which straddles the city boundary and connects to the area of Bassett Creek where the city will complete stream restoration. The work will focus on the wetlands that ring Grimes Pond, North Rice Pond, and South Rice Pond.
“When we studied the wetlands, it was found they were significantly degraded, with very poor water quality, and that is because there is run-off from multiple communities,” said Eckman. “What the project is going to do is best some best management practices, like ponds and filtration basins and some of that upstream from the wetlands, to help clean and filter and treat that stormwater runoff from the communities before it gets to the wetlands, and we hope to improve the native vegetation buffers around the wetlands as well.”
That work is also supposed to begin later in 2025 and continue in to 2026.
Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ/Bassett Creek Watershed Clean-Up Event
The city will host a one-day cleanup event for areas along the creek on Saturday, April 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers can meet at city hall in the morning to gather supplies, including maps, gloves, bags, rakes, and grabbers (as supplies last) and then head out to pick up trash along the creek or parks near the creek.
No Mow May 2025
There’s still plenty of time to register for free with the city to help make your lawn more pollenator-friendly this spring. The city is once again encouraging a No Mow May, where homeowners refrain from mowing or using any gas-powered lawn equipment to allow grass to grow, soil to warm up, and to provide a richer environment for pollenators, including native bee species, to get the season started with plenty of food and safe shelter.
“It kind of protects our pollinators and gives them a headstart on some food sources that may be growing that time of year,” said Eckman.
Those who register can receive a free lawn sign from the city.
