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Welcome

Welcome to the Yellow Medicine River Watershed District

The Yellow Medicine River Watershed District (YMRWD) is a local unit of government established on August 27, 1971 through a petition of its residents to the MN Board of Water and Soil Resources. The jurisdiction of the organization covers 685 square miles in southwestern Minnesota that drain to the Yellow Medicine River in Lincoln (39%), Lyon (23%), and Yellow Medicine (38%) counties. County Commissioners appoint representatives to a 5-member board of managers that direct and oversee activities of the District. The District currently employs one staff person, so it is best to call ahead before planning a visit to the office.

The District has three core functions:

  1. Manage public drainage by serving as the drainage authority for public ditch systems.
  2. Manage private drainage activities through a permit system backed by district rules and regulations.
  3. Work with local partners to implement activities defined in the Yellow Medicine One Watershed One Plan that work on the following three goals:
    • a. Reduce the potential for flooding by mitigating the impacts created from altering natural drainage patterns.  
    • b. Reduce the transport of pollutants into our surface water (primarily excess sediment, nutrients, and bacteria).
    • c. Protect and preserve groundwater quantity and quality.

To review the One Watershed One Plan in its entirety, click on the link below.

Website Accessibility

It is the goal of the Yellow Medicine River Watershed District that the information on its website be accessible to individuals with disabilities in compliance with the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and that the statutes implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 104, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and that statutes implementing regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 35. If you have difficulty accessing information on our website due to a disability, please contact us at admin@ymrwd.com and provide the URL (web address) of the material you tried to access, the problem you experienced and your contact information. Be sure to include your name, email address and phone number so that we may contact you to provide the information in another format.