Local culvert efforts recognized statewide

Carlton County department members and the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District earned statewide recognition recently for efforts on culverts the past several years.

The Carlton County Department of Transportation team received the County Conservation Award from the Association of Minnesota Counties at its annual meeting in December. It was for right-sized culvert replacement practices. The approach focuses on sizing pipes to site-specific stream characteristics to avoid high-energy flows and stream disruption. It significantly reduces the likelihood of road washouts from heavy storms or floods and minimizes fragmentation of aquatic habitat, often the case with poorly sized culverts.

The installations have proven successful through the storms of this past year, even in spots of frequent trouble, saving time and money down the road. An added benefit of these flow-preserving pipes will likely be greater trout habitat.

Other culvert work in the county led to another award, this one for Melanie Bomier from the SWCD and Will Bomier from the county. The Minnesota Erosion Control Association recognized the two for innovation in minimizing erosion through culvert inventory efforts. The robust program serves as a significant efficiency improvement to cataloguing information on culverts by providing a tailored overview of each pipe that can readily be accessed and updated by staff. This, in turn, provides a means to adequately chart trends and keep up to speed with needed improvements across the 2,000-plus culverts. The significance of this inventory is emphasized all the more when considering the remote portion of the county where road damage or washouts can be crippling to the travel of residents or emergency personnel given the minimal road network.

The ability to better determine culvert needs and prioritize properly sized replacements aligns with the success of disaster relief alongside water quality preservation, especially in the face of more prevalent flood events.

MECA additionally awarded contractor Veit & Company in Duluth for environmental excellence in their project with the SWCD at County Road 103 by Skunk Creek. The company earned praise for its commitment to preserving the wellbeing of the project site and minimizing water pollution during the restoration project on the creek this past summer. Their willingness to work with weather conditions and changing timelines to minimize soil loss earned them praise from the SWCD, as did their dedication to improving future wildlife habitat through the resulting restored stream section.