Bassett Creek Watershed Summit in Plymouth

Suffering from insomnia? Read this for a quick cure: Stormwater runoff. Infiltration. Watershed management . Asleep yet? Now try this: Shrinking back yards. Stinky creeks. Flooded basements. Kind of wakes you up again, doesn’t it? These reasons—and more—are why the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission wants to hear from you. The commission is made up of ordinary residents like you. It focuses on water quality and flooding in the watershed district, which includes Plymouth. The commission is starting to update its plan for the next 10 years and needs input from residents and businesses. If you think your voice won’t make a difference, Terrie Christian knows otherwise. When she bought her property on Medicine Lake in the mid-1980s, she found “a very, very sick lake,” filling with sediment and full of algae blooms that turned the lake into a smelly mess. Some 25 years later, working with the commission, Christian and other residents have seen the lake greatly improve. People like Christian, who are on the front lines, serve as the commission’s eyes and ears, says commissioner Ginny Black.   Christian agrees. The point, she says, is to speak up: “Citizen input is really important. And it can be really powerful.” —Judy Arginteanu & The Bassett Creek Watershed Summit is at 7 p.m. June 13, at the Plymouth Community Center (14800 34th Ave. N,; plymouthmn.gov). To take an online survey, go to bassetcreekwmo.org.