The Metropolitan Council kicked off the 2026 Sacred Water Shared Future movement with an art shanty on Bdé Umań (Lake Harriet) in January and February. Visitors to the shanty put colored pencil to paper, coloring fish and writing a few words about the significance of the Mississippi River to them. Sacred Water Shared Future is a movement that honors the sacredness, resilience, and central place of the Mississippi River in our metro region’s story. The movement shares the history of the immense pollution in the river in the 1920s and 1930s before the first water resource recovery facility on the Mississippi River opened in 1938 near downtown Saint Paul. It also celebrates the progress we’ve made to restore the river in 100 years and hopes to inspire stewardship of the river for the next 100. The movement embraces community, storytelling, education, and conservation. Events are being planned throughout the year, and organizations and residents are invited to create events as part of the movement. Get involved in Sacred Water Shared Future. Key partners in the movement include the Capitol Region Watershed District, Freshwater, the Met Council, Mississippi Park Connection, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, National Park Service, and One Mississippi. Listen to a presentation about Sacred Water Shared Future (begins at 21:52). The Met Council’s Art + Policy team created the art shanty. Posted In: Communities, Wastewater & Water