Source Water Protection Collaborative
A Minnesota-based statewide initiative, the Source Water Protection Collaborative brings together individuals who have expertise in source water, community outreach, engagement, or public health to develop ways to promote land use which protects drinking water sources.
The Source Water Protection Collaborative began in 2019 when Environmental Initiative, the Minnesota Department of Health, and Citizens League explored needs and opportunities for land use and land use decisions that protect drinking water supplies. Explore the project development in Phase I, creative engagement report, or 2023 Collaborative report.
Vision and Purpose
Vision: We make choices on the land that ensure clean, safe drinking water for all.
Purpose: Bringing together diverse groups and perspectives to advance collective action for protecting drinking water.
Support our upcoming community engagement project
The Collaborative is calling on artists, creators, and community leaders in Chatfield to help shape our next creative engagement project in 2026. We’re building on the success of our pilot project with artist Su Legatt, who worked with us to connect Little Falls residents with drinking water protection through papermaking, watercolor, and more.
Want to get involved?
- Watch the video below to learn more about our work in Little Falls.
- Reach out to Britta Dornfeld to be notified when the artist RFQ goes live.
- Contact Sacha Seymour-Anderson to discuss a monetary or in-kind donation.
Creating with & for water
In 2023, the Source Water Protection Collaborative hired an artist-in-residence, Su Legatt, to engage members of a rural Minnesota community around protecting drinking water. Watch the video below to learn more about Su, the city of Little Falls, and how Creating With & For Water came to be.
Project photos
Art and water repository
This artist-in-residence program is just one resource at the intersection of civic engagement and water. You can find more resources, including materials that may be useful for developing a new program, in our art and water repository.
What we do
- Share knowledge between communities with similar efforts and concerns.
- Leverage and learn from projects and policy planning efforts about ways drinking water protection is impacted throughout the state.
- Build capacity of local and state government officials responsible for providing drinking water to engage with those who have been marginalized from government decision-making, including farmers, rural residents, immigrant and BIPOC communities, and small business owners.
- Support local community partnerships and trust-building efforts, focusing on those who have been marginalized, in order to build a stronger civic fabric and greater collective capacity for securing safe drinking water for all.
Project Contacts
If you are interested in learning more about the collaborative’s work which includes a clearinghouse for water resources and public art projects, contact us.
Britta Dornfeld
Senior Partnership Manager she/her Email Britta Office: 612-334-3388 ext. 8120 Cell: 612-425-4939Recent stories
Building effective communications for water resource professionals
The Source Water Protection Collaborative recently transferred engagement resources for water resource professionals to a new home on The Confluence of Watershed Leaders website.
Navigating corporate challenges in freshwater stewardship: Insights from the Mississippi River Basin
World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), and Environmental Initiative have teamed up to support corporate sustainability leaders in setting actionable, science-based freshwater targets through shared learning and collaboration.
Introducing Su Legatt, artist-in-residence
Artist, educator, and community organizer Su Legatt was recently commissioned by Environmental Initiative and the Source Water Protection Collaborative to creatively engage Little Falls, Minnesota residents on issues of drinking water and environmental health.
Collaborative Members
- Sarah Berry, Local Public Health Association and Waseca County Public Health
- Katie Breth, Minnesota Rural Water Association
- Mae Davenport, University of Minnesota
- Annie Felix, Minnesota Department of Health
- Stephanie Hatzenbihler, Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District
- Aaron Meyer, Minnesota Rural Water Association
- Alycia Overbo, Minnesota Department of Health
- Jen Schaust, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
- Dave Schulenberg, Minnesota Water Well Association
- Ed Zabinski, Zabinski Consulting
- Molly Zins, Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership
Our Partners
