The West Central Initiative commissioned an infrastructure pilot project in three communities in west central Minnesota. The City of Brandon, as a community with agricultural land being converted to housing, was chosen to be part of the pilot project. Yellow Wood worked with Brandon to identify the water systems issues that required attention from stormwater, to drinking water to wastewater. Stormwater run off, and its negative impact on the existing wetlands, was identified as a major problem; a second issue identified was the common problem of wastewater infiltration from the service connections, or laterals, connecting individual residences or businesses to the town sewer line. Once Yellow Wood had looked systematically at the City of Brandon’s water resources, recommendations were identified to address water conservation,efficiency of water treatment equipment, wastewater infiltration and stormwater.
Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development
