Columbia Heights Library

The Columbia Heights Library Planning Committee’s vision for their new library included visible stormwater features that would reduce pollution and help educate visitors. The City of Columbia Heights approached the MWMO for a grant to fund the installation of several treatments, including permeable pavers, a tree trench and biofiltration basins with native plantings.

Located on a visible stretch of Central Avenue, the site features interpretive signs that illustrate how the stormwater features work. The library incorporated the signage into an integrated pre-kindergarten curriculum designed to help support the MWMO’s education and outreach goals.

Due to contaminated soil at the site, allowing stormwater runoff to soak into the ground was not an option. Instead, the runoff is treated on-site and then discharged into the stormsewer system after pollutants are removed.

During winter months, a snowmelt system built into the sidewalk helps keep the site ice-free without the use of salt or deicing chemicals that could reach the storm drains and end up in the Mississippi River.