Heath Avenue Water Quality Project Breaks Ground

The Comfort Lake–Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD) has broken ground on a major water quality improvement project designed to reduce phosphorus and sediment entering Little Comfort Lake.

Little Comfort Lake was listed as impaired for excess nutrients by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 2012. Through more than a decade of monitoring and assessment, the District identified the Heath Avenue drainage as a significant source of phosphorus entering the lake.

The new Heath Avenue Iron-Enhanced Sand Filter (IESF) will capture phosphorus and sediment from the drainage before it reaches Little Comfort Lake. Once complete, the project is expected to prevent approximately 80 pounds of phosphorus and 4,330 pounds of sediment each year from entering the lake, helping improve water quality and clarity and move Little Comfort Lake closer to meeting state standards.

The project was made possible in part through a $45,000 Lower St. Croix Partnership grant for feasibility work and a $1.5 million Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Clean Water Fund grant for design and construction. The District also used local levy funds to purchase the property needed for the project.

The groundbreaking marks an important milestone after more than 10 years of assessment, planning, and project development. In addition to improving Little Comfort Lake, the project will provide downstream benefits to Comfort Lake, the Sunrise River, and the St. Croix River.