Minnehaha Falls has dried up for the second year in a row — the first time ever that the usually gushing, much-visited Minneapolis waterfall has gone dry for consecutive years.
Managing the falls, which is part of Minnehaha Creek, has become more difficult as Minnesota experiences the effects of climate change, said Tiffany Schaufler, senior project maintenance coordinator at the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. State climatologists project that the state is more likely to see extreme weather in the form of heavy rains over a short period, and long periods of drought between precipitation events.
"We're getting lots of calls asking 'Why is the creek dry?' We're just in a deficit of water," Schaufler said. "All of our creeks and wetlands are dry and Lake Minnetonka is 20 inches below normal. There's no water to be had."
Minnehaha Falls, which sits within a large city park in south Minneapolis and is a popular draw for residents and tourists alike, went dry in the summers of 2000, 2009, 2012 and 2021, according to the watershed district. This year, the Twin Cities area recorded the driest September on record with 0.23 inches of rainfall. Average rainfall for the month is about 3 inches.
The area also recorded the driest summer since 1936, the peak of the Dust Bowl, with only 6.81 inches of rain. Average summer rainfall for the Twin Cities is 16 inches.
Gray's Bay Dam, which controls water flowing into the creek from Lake Minnetonka, has been closed because the lake is 20 inches below its ordinary high level, Schaufler said.
Historically, when the lake dropped below its natural runout elevation, it stopped flowing into the creek. The dam is required to close when the lake falls below 928.6 feet.
Much of Hennepin, Carver, Scott, Lyon and Sibley counties are experiencing extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
