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.
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 creative engagement for source water protection
The Source Water Protection Collaborative will be working with community artist and educator Mary Beth Magyar, M.Ed., throughout 2026 to engage the community of Chatfield, Minnesota about drinking water in a way that empowers residents to engage deeply with the topic and builds relationships and trust among stakeholders. If you’re interested in supporting this work, a sponsorship document is available with information about fiscal and in-kind partnership.
Contact Sacha Seymour-Anderson to learn more and become a sponsor today.
Past work, 2019-2025
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.
Learn more about the Collaborative’s work through 2025:
- Project development in Phase I
- Creative engagement report
- 2023 Collaborative report
- Creating With & For Water
- Art and water repository
What we do
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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
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 Britta.
Britta Dornfeld
Senior Partnership Manager she/her Office: 612-334-3388 ext. 8120 Cell: 612-425-4939Our Partners
Funding source
Primary funder
Consultant
Recent 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.