Flowing water eats away at the soil on the lower bank along the outside curves of rivers. The water is piled against the outside of the curve as the river bends, similar to the sensation of being pushed to the outside of a fast-turning car. This flowing water scours material away, causing the bank to collapse. A common and effective method of preventing erosion is to armor the bank with a robust layer of material that cannot easily be moved or washed away by the current, such as rock. This results in a bank armored against erosion, but it does not allow vegetation to flourish on the part of the bank covered in rock. It also doesn't help dissipate the energy of that flowing water, which can then be exacerbated downstream. It often requires the entire armored length to be clear-cut and graded. 

An alternative to armoring is to redirect the river's flow from the outer bank, thereby preventing scour through deflection. An effective way to do this is to angle rock barbs or weirs upstream into the channel. This forces the water to flow around and over at a perpendicular angle. This pushes the main flow back towards the center of the stream rather than along the outer bank. Often, a deep pool is made just off the end of the weir towards the center of the channel. This causes variable flows and depths within the channel that fish and other organisms like. ACD has recently implemented bendway weirs and plans to install more in the near future. For more information contact Jared Wagner, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

An early thaw and record-breaking warmth have turned the typical spring emergence of ticks into an explosion of them. Anoka County is a high-risk area for tick born disease according to the MN Dept. of Health. The two primary types of ticks Minnesotans are likely to pick up afield are American dog (wood) ticks and Blacklegged (deer) ticks. While wood ticks can transmit disease to humans, it is rare. Blacklegged ticks (or deer ticks) however, carry a bevy of diseases transmittable to humans. Some of these diseases can cause lifelong illness and suffering. Luckily, there are some easy strategies to implement while outdoors to reduce your chances of being bitten and infected: 

1. Treat clothing with Permethrin. Unlike typical "bug spray", permethrin is used to treat clothing before going outdoors. It should not be applied to the skin. Permethrin is the most effective deterrent against ticks, and it also keeps mosquitoes and flies away.

2. Wear long pants, sleeves, and boots. Tuck your pants into your socks and shirts into your pants to reduce openings to your skin. Light colored clothing makes ticks easier to see.

ACD has been busy stabilizing severely eroded riverbanks along the Rum River to reduce the load of sediment and nutrients entering the river and to enhance the habitat of the Rum. A large initiative utilizing phases of grant funding from the Clean Water Land and Legacy amendment kicked off after a 2017 erosion inventory highlighted just how much need there was along the Rum River. To date, this initiative has garnered significant local investment beyond the competitive state grant dollars from Anoka County, the Upper and Lower Rum River WMOs, the Cities of Anoka and St. Francis, ACD, and numerous property owners. In 2024, we substantially completed construction for Phase 1 of funding from two competitive state grant sources; the Clean Water Fund (CWF), and the Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF). 

With these funds, along with local match dollars from the all the sources mentioned, we successfully installed the following in 2024:

• 405-feet of articulated concrete toe to normal water levels, with low rock riprap armoring to the two-year flood elevation along some of the highest, steepest, and deepest erosion on the river in Oak Grove (CWF grant funds).
• 115-feet of supplemental rock toe around 40-foot tall bank with toe erosion, susceptible to critical failure in the near future in Oak Grove (OHF grant funds).
• 415-feet of rock toe armoring to a two-year flood elevation with upper banks graded and seeded with native vegetation in Oak Grove, (OHF grant funds). Bank heights ranged from 12-feet to 20-feet with a shear vertical eroded face.
• 400-feet of rock toe armoring to a two-year flood elevation with 225-feet of vegetated reinforced soil slope, and 175-feet of graded upper bank, all of which was seeded to native vegetation in Anoka (OHF grant funds). This bank was approximately 10-feet in height with a paved walking trail actively falling into the river.
• 200-feet of cedar revetment along moderate toe erosion at the Anoka Nature Preserve in Anoka (OHF grant funds). A 550-foot stretch immediately upstream of this segment is planned for a bioengineering project in 2025.

Construction was completed in early November to stabilize one of the highest priority riverbanks in Anoka County. Two separate projects, spanning multiple properties, stabilized 935-feet of some of the tallest and most eroding riverbank on the Rum River. Portions of this stretch ranked at the top of the list of 80+ identified eroding banks during a 2017 erosion inventory of the Rum River through Anoka County. Altogether, these projects are estimated to reduce annual pollutant loading to the Rum River by 753-tons of sediment, and 640-lbs of total phosphorus.  

Construction is underway to stabilize one of the highest priority eroding riverbanks in Anoka County. Two separate projects spanning multiple properties will stabilize a total of 935' of some of the tallest and most severely eroding riverbanks on the Rum River. A portion of this stretch was ranked in the top two of over eighty identified eroding banks during a 2017 erosion inventory of the Rum River. Altogether, the stabilization of this stretch of bank is estimated to reduce annual pollutant loading to the Rum River by 753-tons of sediment, and 640-lbs of total phosphorus. Construction began in early September and should wrap up prior to winter. 

The project utilizes a combination of hard armoring techniques, including rock riprap and articulated concrete block mat to stabilize the very tall slope. After the toe is armored, banks will be graded back where they can be to provide a stable slope, and native vegetation and trees will be planted. Funding sources include grant dollars from the Clean Water Fund and Outdoor Heritage Fund (both from the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment) as well as match dollars from the landowners, Anoka County, and the Upper Rum River WMO.For more information contact Jared Wagner, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.