Eight-year project underway
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has launched an eight-year effort to update the Public Waters Inventory (PWI)—a critical tool for identifying lakes, wetlands, and streams that meet Minnesota’s legal definition of public waters.
The project will proceed county-by-county, with the goal of completing an average of 12 counties a year (adjusting, as appropriate, for county size and number of public waters). The specific counties and order of county updates has not been determined.
Why now?
A 2024 statute revision clarified that public waters are defined by law, not by whether they appear on the PWI. As a result, the DNR is updating the inventory by 2032 to ensure it accurately reflects current legal definitions.
What to expect in each county
For each county, in general, the DNR will:
- Send an initial notice to the county, local governments, and newspapers.
- DNR will prepare a preliminary map reflecting the corrections and any modifications and submit it to the county board. Potentially affected landowners will receive direct mail notice
- In conjunction with a county board meeting, the DNR will host a public meeting to elicit public feedback on the preliminary revisions to the map. After the public meeting, DNR will provide a 30-day comment period on the corrections and modifications made in the preliminary map.
- DNR will review the feedback received during the comment period and make necessary modification to the preliminary map. This revised map, now a provisional final map, will be submitted to the county and made available on DNR’s project website.
- Parties (including riparian landowners) or counties wishing to challenge a decision made by the DNR will have 90 days to request Commissioner review of the modified and updated PWI
- Upon completion of Commissioner’s review, the DNR will issue the updated PWI list and map for the county.
Click here to view the process map »»
Project goals
Correct the Inventory: The Public Water Inventory Update Project addresses known errors identified by the DNR. Key updates include adding trout streams and tributaries identified since the 1990s, and correcting classification errors found during the 2016 Buffer Protection Map initiative. Review will include other DNR-identified errors.
Support Water Protection: Help landowners, agencies, and local governments better understand and manage water resources.
Clarify Regulations: Ensure compliance with state laws, including Minnesota’s Buffer Law, which requires public waters to have vegetative buffers to protect water quality.
About the PWI
The original development of the PWI used a rigorous and robust process. Originally created in the 1980s, the PWI serves as a shared reference for:
- Determining public water locations
- Guiding development and conservation decisions
- Supporting enforcement of state water protection laws
Learn more
Information on the Public Waters Inventory Program.
For details on buffer requirements for public waters, visit the DNR Buffer Mapping Project webpage.
Project updates
The PWI Update project status for Minnesota’s counties is shown below.
Important links
On Oct. 2, 2024, the DNR hosted a webinar with a question and answer opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about the department's project to update Minnesota's Public Waters Inventory (PWI). The webinar recording is available to view and the DNR has prepared answers to questions submitted by attendees during the webinar.
Click here to view responses to 10/2/2024 webinar questions »»
Questions about the PWI Update Project can be sent to [email protected].