How it All Began

The Northeast Storm Drain Adoption Challenge was born at the corner of Lincoln and 30th as Minnesota Water Steward, Michelle Spangler, waited at the bus stop during her son’s year at Kindergarten. 

Michelle noticed that storm drains at the corner were often full of sand and sediment and blocked by leaves.  In the spring, as the snow and ice were melting, she observed that the streets were often flooded by the melting snow and ice.  Michelle learned through her courses as a Minnesota Water Steward that storm drains flow directly to the Mississippi River without any kind of filtration before the water enters the River.  Once she learned that, Michelle felt compelled to adopt the 6 storm drains at that corner to keep her street dry and all the sand, trash, and other debris and pollutants from entering the Mississippi River.

Spangler wanted to learn more about the adopt-a-drain program, so in one of her searches, she stumbled across a contest between two St. Paul neighborhoods whose goal was to see which neighborhood could adopt the most storm drains.  Spangler, inspired by St. Paul drain adoption contest, reached out to her local neighborhood association with the idea of a neighborhood challenge right here in Northeast Minneapolis and it took off from there.

Michelle hopes that the NE Storm Drain Challenge continues to grow, expanding her community’s awareness of how keeping storm drains clean can impact the health of the Mississippi River. Ultimately, she’d love for the idea of the Challenge to be adapted in neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis and beyond.