The 2026 State of the Region event in May highlighted the future of clean water in our region. The event brought together about 200 local elected officials and staff, nonprofit advocates, legislators, and Metropolitan Council members and staff for dialogue on water, affordable housing, and other key topics. Hosted by the Ames Center in Burnsville, the event featured remarks from Met Council Chair Robin Hutcheson, focusing on the deep connection that the goals in the regional development guide, Imagine 2050, have to water. She also highlighted how partnership among the region’s communities and people make Imagine 2050 a strong foundation for the region. Chair Hutcheson facilitated a panel featuring three water leaders in the region. They emphasized the value of water for our lives, how it transcends political differences, and what we need to do to restore and maintain water quality and supply. Changing our mindset about water from resource to relative “I think it’s important that every single one of us change our mindsets in how we view things like the river, the land, the plants, the animals,” said Shelley Buck, President of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi and State Representative for District 47A in the Minnesota Legislature. “They are our relatives…We need to treat the river and the water and the natural relatives better so they in turn can treat us better and take care of us. “It is a reciprocal relationship that we need to understand,” Buck said. “It’s not just a take, take, take. The river isn’t there to make us money. It’s there to help take care of us. But we have to take care of her, too.” From three fish in the river to a much cleaner Mississippi today A century ago, the Mississippi River was labeled a “public nuisance” after a 1926 study found only three living fish between Saint Paul and Hastings. It led to regional collaboration, including wastewater standards and the area’s first treatment facility – significant advancements toward modern river management. Water quality continued to improve over the next several decades, and today more than three million people are served by the Met Council’s nine award-winning water resource recovery facilities. What does the future of water look like 100 years from now? “We have made a lot of progress, but we also have a lot of work to do,” said Nicole Blasing, Municipal Division Director for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “The challenges and the pollutants we are working with now are very complex and difficult and there’s not really easy solutions. “We’re also dealing with extreme weather and climate impacts that are challenging our stormwater and wastewater systems, too,” Blasing said. “It’s really important for us to work together across the wastewater industry, the water sector to identify the solutions for the future... So in 100 years, my goal would be to have figured out a way to continue to have affordable wastewater, stormwater, and utility services to our communities throughout the state, and also ensuring protection of water quality and human health within our communities.” Water and climate resilience Chair Hutcheson asked the panelists to reflect on what climate resilience means to them. “This is where traditional ecological knowledge, nature-based solutions, and science and engineering can come together to build in more of that flexibility and more of that water circularity,” said Michelle Stockness, executive director of the Minnesota-based Freshwater Society. Stockness talked about the Kramer Quarry in Burnsville, where water from mining operations is piped out and treated to drinking water standards. “The more we can keep water on the landscape, slow it down, recharge aquifers, conserve water, do water recycling, I think those are really great tools for circularity that also help us combat climate change.” The events also featured a discussion between Chair Hutcheson and Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz about the importance of partnership for a stronger region. The formal portion of the event concluded with Regional Administrator Ryan O’Connor facilitating a panel of Met Council division leaders. They highlighted technical assistance for communities, grants and financial support available, and the Met Council priority of partnering to support the region’s communities. Watch a recording of the 2026 State of the Region. Posted In: Council News