It's a busy time at the Minnesota Legislature, and Freshwater Research and Policy Director Carrie Jennings recently testified in front of the Senate Committee on Environment, Climate, and Legacy in support of a bill to develop a water availability atlas. This mapping tool would be used by businesses and local governments to improve siting of water-intensive projects like data centers, hospitals and manufacturing facilities. We know that many industries are coming to Minnesota and other Great Lakes states because of our water and climate – and it's important to plan carefully so that groundwater reserves are not depleted, and new projects are not placed in locations where they may cause well interferences or ecological impacts.💧 #mnleg #groundwaterconservation #sustainability (fb)

Spring is here! As the ice and snow continue to melt, trash that has been frozen and buried all winter is exposed. Now is the time to clean it up before it gets carried into our local waters. Check out our Adopt a River toolkit to help you organize a cleanup in your community: https://freshwater.org/aar-toolkit/. If you’d like to join an Earth Day cleanup in Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board is looking for volunteers at more than 40 cleanup site throughout the city – learn more: minneapolisparks.org/activities-events/events/earth_day_cleanup/. (fb)