Engineering and Public Works 2025 Annual Report

NEW INITIATIVES AND TECHNOLOGY

WEATHER STATION

The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) administers a grant program called Watershed Based Implementation Funding (WBIF). This program distributes clean water funds throughout the state for watershed districts and local partners to identify water quality implementation projects. The City of Shakopee partnered with the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District and the Scott Watershed Management Organization to receive 2025 WBIF for construction of a weather monitoring station and road sensors to help better foresee winter weather and road conditions. The station uses roadway sensors spaced throughout the city and radar detection to measure pavement temperature and surface conditions (icy, wet, dry), along with weather conditions such as air moisture, temperature, and wind speed. This data is then combined with weather forecasts to accurately predict the roadway surface conditions both in real time and forecasted for the next three days, all from the convenience of the phone or computer. The weather station was installed in 2025 at the intersection of Southbridge Parkway and Old Carriage Court. This information will help proactively inform the City’s snow removal operations and aid in the reduction of over-application of salt on roadways during winter maintenance activities.

Salt is a permanent pollutant. One teaspoon of salt is enough to permanently pollute five gallons of water. It’s estimated that approximately 70 percent of the salt we use stays in our local lakes, wetlands, ponds, and drinking water. The City plans to install additional sensors and weather stations in other areas of the community in the coming years to monitor conditions more accurately across Shakopee. This weather data also helps inform decisions on how to most efficiently deploy snow removal operations, as conditions can vary across the city.

The weather station is mounted to a traffic signal at the intersection of Southbridge Parkway and Old Carriage Court.

The weather station allows the City to remotely monitor conditions throughout Shakopee, including pavement temperatures and risk of ice on roads.

12 | Engineering/Public Works