Inventorying shoreline zones on surface waters throughout Anoka County serve as valuable tools for assessing lakeshore and riverbank conditions, comparing current conditions to previous years to identify changes, and for prioritizing project implementation. ACD recently purchased a 360° video camera that has 4 high-definition lenses and a rugged design, to be used outside in the elements. The camera takes continuous video that is Geo-located and stitched together creating a final GPS video that is viewable from all angles. Following a day on the water with the 360° camera, videos are uploaded to Google Street View Studio, a new application recently released by Google. 

Once uploaded to the Google Studio App, the videos are public and accessible to anyone. ACD utilizes these videos to compile shoreline reports, which describe erosion severity and provide recommendations for project needs. Shoreline videos along Martin, Coon, Linwood Lake, the southern portion of the Mississippi River, and Oak Glen Creek were collected throughout 2023 and are now available to view. Click on the individual links above to begin exploring. Videos along the Rum River were also collected and will be available to the public soon!

For more information contact Kris Larson, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

ACD has a number of grant opportunities available for addressing shoreline erosion along both streams and lakes in Anoka County. If you have noticed your lakeshore migrating back on you over time, or perhaps once had a low walkable area along your river frontage that is now gone leaving only a steep drop-off, ACD may be able to help you design and even fund a project to protect your property.

The first step is a site visit to your property by ACD staff. Now is a great time to reach out to ACD to plan a site visit in the spring. We will assess your erosion problems, give you advice on how to address them, and see if your shoreline might fit into one of our various grant programs for financial assistance. Shoreline restoration does far more than just protect your property. It also protects the water resource you live on, and also enhances habitat for all of the wildlife that utilizes that resource! 

Seven properties totaling 540 feet of shoreline will be stabilized at Lake George in the coming months. The projects are part of efforts to reverse a trend of declining water quality in the lake and enhance near shore habitat. All of the project sites are on private properties with active shoreline erosion. The work will reduce sediment entering Lake George by 8 tons/yr and phosphorus by 12 lbs/yr.

The seven sites were chosen from all around the lake, and the places where ACD staff determined the greatest pollutant reductions could be achieved with the greatest certainty. We used existing shoreline inventories to identify 35 properties with actively eroding shoreline. Of those properties, 25 expressed interested. ACD staff visited each property and heard first-hand from those landowners about their shorelines. Finally, each shoreline was scored relative to erosive forces, current erosion, benefits of upland buffers to filter runoff, pollutant reduction calculations, and likelihood of success.

$70,000 in grant funds is available for construction. That dollar amount limits work to approximately the top seven projects, however more will be done if construction bids are low. Funding is from a Watershed Based Implementation grant from the MN Board of Water and Soil Resources. The programs for this grant were selected by a team of local partners including city, watershed organization, and soil and water conservation district representatives. Collaborators on the Lake George shoreline program include the Upper Rum River Watershed Management Organization and Lake George Conservation Club.

Shoreline stabilization measures will vary. All include rock or natural fiber protection at the water's edge, as well as a native plant shoreline buffer. Some will include regrading to a stable slope.

Owners of properties selected for shoreline stabilization are being notified now. Surveying, design, and construction bidding will occur in 2021.Projects will be installed in spring 2022.