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2245 Watertown Rd Long Lake, MN 55356 <br />Ditch Restoration <br />I have resided at the aforementioned address for over 30 years. During this time, a <br />drainage ditch has consistently run through my property. It flows briefly after storm events but remains dry for most of the year since I acquired the home. The channel has <br />always maintained a fairly level and stable condition, with vegetated side slopes. <br />In 2017, the cities of Long Lake and Orono initiated an "improvement" project for Watertown Road and the surrounding streets. This project included the installation of <br />curbs and gutters and a rerouting of the neighborhood's runoff from north Watertown Road directly into the drainage ditch on my property through an upgraded culvert. <br />Additionally, erosion fabric was placed from the new culvert to approximately 20 feet downstream in the existing ditch. <br />However, these road enhancements led to a higher volume of stormwater runoff being <br />directed to the culvert. This, in turn, resulted in severe erosion extending well beyond the 20-foot area that was fortified. The side slopes lost their vegetation, the channel <br />bottom became unstable, and it started eroding backward toward the culvert. <br />Despite my numerous unsuccessful attempts to elicit a response from the city, I eventually reached out to the Mayor, who conducted a site visit with other city <br />employees. He remarked that it was the most severe erosion he had ever seen and committed the city to participate in the restoration efforts. We reached an agreement in <br />which I, as the homeowner, would oversee the site work, including labor and equipment, <br />and provide the necessary fabric, while the city would supply the riprap. <br />To ensure the proper execution of this project, the city required me to obtain the <br />necessary permits. This involved a property survey, which has been successfully completed by Gronberg and Associates. Furthermore, a wetland delineation was <br />conducted in collaboration with The Corps of Engineers, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, and Kjolhaug Environmental Services. All of these assessments concluded that <br />there are no wetlands on the property and unanimously attributed the erosion to the rerouting of runoff resulting from the 2017 road construction. The Ditch Restoration <br />proposal by Gronberg and Associates will effectively manage runoff and prevent future erosion. The proposal aims to slow the flow of storm events through the channel and <br />prevent future erosion and backward erosion. The plan also rectifies an unstable eroding cutbank of nearly 90 degrees.