For nearly four decades Jim and Cindy DeRuyter have enjoyed their peaceful Andover home with the Rum River in their backyard, a scenic amenity that offers quick access to smallmouth bass fishing and canoeing.
But over the years, the retired couple has watched the river creep onto their land. They estimate the river has engulfed at least 4 feet of their property while uprooting plenty of trees and sending them downstream.
To prevent further erosion, Anoka County is carrying on bank stabilization projects to protect the Rum and its recreational uses from the effects of development. Work with homeowners like the DeRuyters kicked off in 2014, and now the county, along with the Anoka Conservation District and partnering agencies, is planning a $1.7 million project to stabilize banks on mostly public land.
"The river is a lot wider than it used to be," Cindy DeRuyter said on a recent afternoon down at the riverbank, inspecting deer tracks and checking on the bank stabilization work the county has completed in recent years.
Erosion on the Rum in Anoka County is happening at a significantly higher rate than in the upstream counties of Isanti and Mille Lacs because of the growing population and residential development downstream, said Jeff Perry, director of Anoka County Parks. It's threatening water quality, wildlife and riverbank habitat — and conditions will worsen if left untreated, he said.
"The Rum River is truly a special river, not only to the people of Anoka County, but to the metropolitan region to have a connection with nature along a very scenic river," Perry said. "It's a resource I believe that is second to none in Anoka County for sure, if not the metropolitan area."
Eighty areas along the Rum, amounting to a stretch of more than 7 of its 26 miles in Anoka County, are eroding from increased flow and precipitation. Conservation district officials have surveyed the river to identify moderate to severe sites of erosion and are collaborating with the county to develop a multiyear plan to block erosion.
Anoka County recently secured $185,000 from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to start work on public land this fall, as well as $952,000 from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund. The county is contributing a $100,000 match to the state funding, making a total of $442,000 in matching funds over the next five years.