City of New HopeMinnesota

Residential Stormwater Cost Share Program

The city is partnering with Metro Blooms and the Conservation Corps of Minnesota to help New Hope homeowners manage stormwater by installing rain gardens at a reduced cost!

New Hope's Residential Stormwater Cost Share program offers financial assistance to residents that complete stormwater management projects on their property. The projects must effectively manage stormwater in the city by doing one or more of the following:

Protect & restore stormwater by capturing pollutants in runoff
Increase the watershed's ability to store water
Preserve and restore native plant and wildlife communities
Protect and preserve groundwater quality and quantity

Beginning in March 2025 residential landowners may submit applications until funds are gone.

The city partners with Metro Blooms and the Conservation Corps of Minnesota to help New Hope homeowners manage stormwater by installing rain gardens on their residential property at a reduced cost. These rain gardens are relatively small in size, approximately 100-150 square feet, and may capture runoff from a downspout, sidewalk, or driveway. Metro Blooms provides technical expertise in designing the residential rain gardens, and the Conservation Corps of Minnesota provides the manual labor to dig the basin of the rain garden. Residents are then responsible for installing the plants in the rain garden and the on-going maintenance.

An application must be approved by the city prior to starting any work. Projects started or completed when submitted are not eligible. The project must be completed within the agreed upon timeline of the initial application approval. A maintenance agreement between the city and homeowner are required for residential cost share projects. Further details regarding maintenance can be found in the maintenance tab below.

The city’s Residential Stormwater Cost Share program subsidizes a large portion of the cost for the rain gardens, making it a great, low-cost opportunity to improve the aesthetics of your property and help manage stormwater.

Homeowners are responsible for paying an upfront $75 consultation cost to Metro Blooms for the rain garden design. The Conservation Corps of Minnesota crews construct the rain gardens in the summer at no cost to the homeowner. Lastly homeowners do the finishing touches by purchasing and installing the plants for their rain garden. Plants can range in cost from $300-500 per garden.

Rain gardens

Rain gardens of all sizes need routine maintenance. The point where water enters the rain garden must be inspected roughly monthly to ensure that it is not clogged with soil or trash. Vegetation should be inspected roughly every two months to make sure it is healthy and to remove weeds. Trash and excess soil should be removed at the same time as inspections. Care must be taken to ensure that soils in the rain garden and vegetation are not trampled and compacted. Do not fertilize the vegetation in a rain garden.

Rain Garden Maintenance Information
Residential Stormwater Cost Share Maintenance Agreement

The application will be available March 2025 at the link below:

Residential Stormwater Cost Share Program Application

Resources:

Program Contact:
Nick Macklem
Stormwater Specialist/Project Coordinator
763.592.6765
[email protected]