Water Quality Grant Inspection Program

This page provides information about the program, what to expect for your grant project inspection, an online self inspection form, a printable inspection form, and maintenance guidance resources.

What Should Water Quality Grantees Expect

When Will Inspections Occur?

Each project will be inspected 4 times over the 10-year lifespan over the following years: year 1, year 3, year 5, and year 10.

Since many projects are already installed and at various states of their effective lifespans, the inspections for these projects will start with a baseline inspection and then follow the frequency schedule outlined above. For example, if your project was installed 6 years ago, a baseline inspection will take place and then the next inspection will fall on year 10.  

Why were these specific years chosen for the frequency of inspections?

Most maintenance work and challenges arise within the first 5 years after installing a project. Native plants require 2-3 years to become full grown plants which makes the area more susceptible to invasives or weeds overtaking your project area.

Also, any structural components that may have been installed incorrectly in a project will show signs of failure within the first few years, so inspecting and catching the problem early will make fixing the issue easier.

After a project is established (5+) years, maintenance is still needed, but less intensive maintenance is typically needed. We still encourage you to inspect your project annually or even seasonally, but that is entirely up to how involved you choose to be with your project.

If you choose to inspect more than the outlined frequency schedule, please submit a self inspection form so we can keep on record how the project is doing and can use that information to help improve the data about the effective lifespan of structural BMPs. An online form or PDF printable form is available below.

Contacting Water Quality Grantees Regarding Inspections

RCWD staff will contact you via email and postcard mailing to notify you if your project is due for a maintenance inspection that year. All maintenance inspections will take place during the summer season, and RCWD staff will notify you 2 weeks in advance.

Grantees do not need to be present during inspections.

Self Inspections

Grantees can conduct self inspections to help reduce the amount of times a RCWD staff member has to come out to the project site. If you receive an email notification or postcard indicating that your project is due for an inspection that year and you prefer to conduct a self inspection, please notify staff in advance or respond to the 2-week notification with your intentions. 

Filling out and submitting a self-inspection form is entirely voluntary and not required under the contract of your Water Quality Grant Project or Operations and Maintenance Agreement.

However, RCWD staff will be doing inspections on all past and future Water Quality Grant Projects and having your support by submitting a self inspection form will reduce the amount of time staff will need to spend towards travelling to project sites. It also allows you to take ownership over your maintenance inspections and do them yourself.

How to SUBMIT A SELF INSPECTION FORM- ONLINE OR EMAIL/MAIL

The self inspection form can be printed and sent via email or mail (printable PDF in Resources Section at bottom of page).

If you want to print the inspection form and fill it out by hand, you can scan and email the form to Molly Nelson at mnelson@ricecreek.org or you can mail the form to the Rice Creek Watershed District Office with attention to the Water Quality Grant Program at 4325 Pheasant Ridge Dr. NE #611, Blaine, MN 55449. Please add photos to these submittals.

Online Self-Inspection Form

• Fill out online form below. There are some (*required) fields you must fill out in order to submit.
• Take pictures during your inspection and upload them in the field that indicates “photo upload”. 
• You must fill out form fully, there is no “save and continue later” option right now.
• Form is sent to RCWD staff once submitted.

Water Quality Grant Project Maintenance Self Inspection Form

This form is for Water Quality Grant Program Grantees. This is the self inspection form that grantees can complete online. The form will be sent to RCWD staff, Molly Nelson, once you click submit.

"*" indicates required fields

Grant Project Information

Full Name*

Grant Number*

This number is on your grant application documents.

Email*

Phone*

Address*

Street Address Address Line 2 City State AlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahU.S. Virgin IslandsVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces Pacific ZIP Code

County*

Inspection Checklist: Select Yes or No

Pick Up*

Is there trash, excessive leaves, grass clippings, or other debris present?
If YES Remove any trash or debris present and dispose of appropriately. Leaves, grass clippings and other organic material can be composted or brought to/collected by your local yard waste facility.

Yes

No

Weeds*

Are weeds or invasive plants present?
If YES: Cut down annual weeds before they seed, this will control them and not allow them to reseed or spread. Pull invasive plants out by the roots. Destroy invasives according to DNR regulations (https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrial/index.html). Please direct plant ID questions to RCWD staff. Herbicide is not recommended in rain gardens.

Yes

No

Erosion*

Are there areas of bare soil or erosion? (Examples provided in pictures)
If YES: Add additional plants to fill in bare spots and erosion control blankets where necessary. If the addition of vegetation does not solve the erosion, contact RCWD for guidance on additional erosion control methods.

Yes

No

Erosion Photo Examples *Photo from Anoka SWCD

Replace Dead Plants*

Is any vegetation dying? Look for brown, dried up plants.
If YES: Remove and replace plants as soon as possible. Determine why plant died such as wrong type of plants for that area such as it needed wetter or drier soils or if it was in too much sun or too much shade, replace with a better suited plant species. Occasionally water new vegetation until well established.

Yes

No

RCWD Project Sign*

If you were provided a RCWD sign, is it damaged or not present?
RCWD staff are currently designing and ordering new signs for grantees to place at their project locations. When signs are available, RCWD will reach out to all grantees to inquire if they would like a free sign.

Yes

No

Complete This Section for RAINGARDENS Only

Standing Water/Infiltration

Is there standing water 48 or more hours after a rainfall? (Example provided below)
If YES: This is an indication that your rain garden is not functioning as designed, there are two likely causes: the raingarden is clogged by sediment, or the soil has been compacted. Remove sediment with a shovel during a dry period. Loosen soil bottom with a rake to aerate soil and break up soil if compacted. If water is still present, contact RCWD for help; the soil type may be inappropriate for a raingarden.

Yes

No

Standing Water/Infiltration Photo Example

Water Flow/Inlet Blockages

Is anything blocking or clogging inlets or outlets? (Examples provided below)
If YES: Remove any debris or sediment that is preventing water from flowing into or out of the raingarden. If an inlet/outlet structural problem is present, contact local engineer/landscape professional.

Yes

No

Water Flow/Inlet Blockages Photo Example *Photo From Anoka SWCD

Complete This Section for SHORELINES Only

Rip Rap/Rocks/Other Stabilization Methods

Is the riprap (i.e. rocks) or other stabilizing techniques still functioning based on the original project design? Have rocks been displaced or fallen away? Is vegetation washed away? Is erosion blanket still secured to the ground?
If YES: Place any materials that are out of place back in the original placement. If any materials have dislodged from the shoreline and are no longer present, contact a contractor or supplier to replace the missing material. Please contact RCWD for the project designs if needed to complete this work.

Yes

No

Ice Ridges or Ice Heaving

Are you experiencing “ice ridges”? (Example picture below). Ice ridges are a natural process lakes experience but can result in damage to your shoreline.
If YES: contact RCWD staff to get additional information and help on managing these.

Yes

No

Ice Ridge/Ice Heaving Photo Example *Photo from LakeShore Guys

Additional Inspection Notes

Inspection Notes*

Please provide additional inspection notes in this section. If answered “yes” above to any checklist items, briefly describe the issue. Any additional problems identified with the project not listed in the checklist above can be recorded here.

Project Photo Upload

Upload Photos of Your Project Here*

This greatly helps staff record the progress and status of your project and also help see the project in case you have any questions.

Drop files here or Select files

Max. file size: 100 MB, Max. files: 4.

Today's Date*

To keep track of maintenance activities throughout the project’s lifetime.

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Why Inspect Water Quality Grant Projects?

Structural stormwater BMPs like rain gardens, shoreline/streambank restorations, and habitat restorations require continual maintenance throughout their lifespan to function properly. The RCWD defines an effective lifespan of all BMPs to be 10 years of continual maintenance on a regular basis. No two projects are alike, so maintenance frequency and amount look different when comparing projects, so it is important to know the maintenance needs of your project.  

Inspecting BMPs regularly helps you as the owner of the project and others (RCWD, the City or County, or future owners of the project) to best understand how the BMP is functioning throughout its lifespan and where attention needs to be focused when applying maintenance.

The more you familiarize yourself with the various maintenance practices, the easier the whole process will become, and can prevent potential larger problems due to negligence in the future.

The purpose of the RCWD maintenance inspection form is to help you identify parts of your project that need attention and track how structural stormwater BMPs function from start to finish with proper maintenance. The goal here is to not criticize, but rather to help identify the best we can to help make your maintenance work easier and less daunting. Each component of the inspection form has guidance and advice associated with the maintenance needed for your project. There will also be room for comments if you are particularly struggling in a certain area, RCWD staff can reach out for a one-on-one meeting to help you further. 

After the 10 Year Mark- Grant Opportunity

Another benefit to regularly inspecting and tracking the maintenance of your project is when your project surpasses the effective lifespan of 10 years and you would like to retrofit the project with new plants or structural improvements, the Water Quality Grant Program can cost-share any retrofits needed to improve the function of the BMP and extend the effective lifespan. However, any retrofits for a project that is no longer functioning at full capacity due to negligence cannot qualify for funding. Having records of maintenance can greatly improve your eligibility for future retrofit cost-share. 

Helpful Resources for maintenance Inspections 

Definitions of Performance Criteria by Metro Blooms (PDF) 

Self-Inspection Guide for Rain Garden Owners by ACD and RCWD (PDF) 

Self-Inspection Guide for Shoreline and Streambank Restorations (need to create)