Watershed Management Organizations
Columbus is part of three Watershed Organizations: Coon Creek Watershed, Rice Creek Watershed and Sunrise River Watershed. View Columbus' watershed boundary map at the bottom of this page.
Coon Creek Watershed District
The Coon Creek Watershed District (CCWD) is a special unit of government charged with maintaining a 135-mile public ditch system to provide drainage while preventing flooding and water pollution.
CCWD boundary contains 107 square miles within Anoka County, including the 92-square mile watershed of Coon Creek plus 15 square miles draining directly into the Mississippi River from Coon Rapids and Fridley.
CCWD residents can contact District Administrator Tim Kelly with questions at 763-755-0975.
Rice Creek Watershed District
The Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) is approximately 185 square miles of urban and rural land in Anoka, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties. Portions of the district can be found in the following municipalities: Arden Hills, Birchwood Village, Blaine, Centerville, Circle Pines, Columbia Heights, Columbus, Dellwood, Falcon Heights, Forest Lake, Fridley, Grant, Hugo, Lauderdale, Lexington, Lino Lakes, Mahtomedi, May Township, Mounds View, New Brighton, Roseville, Saint Anthony, Scandia, Shoreview, Spring Lake Park, White Bear Lake, White Bear Township and Willernie.
The RCWD has made an interactive MapViewer available for public use. It contains the information most commonly asked for by district residents, businesses and other constituents. You will find map layers for roads, waterways, floodplains, RCWD's public drainage system (ditches and tiles), wetlands, topography, and land ownership, in addition to multiple aerial imagery backgrounds. Other public data sets are included as well. Please contact the district if you have questions about using the MapViewer.
Rice Creek Watershed residents can contact permit coordinator and wetland specialist Patrick Hughes with questions at 763-398-3080 or phughes@ricecreek.org.
Sunrise River Water Management Organization
The Sunrise River Watershed Management Organization (SRWMO) is a joint powers special purpose
organization in the northeast corner of Anoka County. The member cities of Columbus, East Bethel, Ham Lake and Linwood Township collaborate to manage water resources across municipal boundaries.
The SRWMO is involved in many aspects of water management including water quality, shoreland management, erosion control, flood control, planning and regulation, recreation and wildlife.
The SRWMO offers grants to residents wishing to do projects that will benefit lakes, streams, or groundwater. Common project types are lakeshore stabilization or vegetation buffers and streambank stabilization. Applications are accepted through the Anoka Conservation District, which hosts several grant programs. Applicants are encouraged to learn more by contacting Jamie Schurbon (jamie.schurbon@anokaswcd.org or 763-434-2030 ext. 21).
The SRWMO has made their 4th Generation Watershed Plan and 2019 Annual Report available to the public online.
Residents of the Sunrise River Watershed can contact Columbus City Offices with questions at 651-464-3120.