The City of Woodbury has received the 2024 Sustainable City Award from the League of Minnesota Cities.

“We give our awards to the very best, and we’re so excited to do that tonight,” Luke Fischer, executive director of the League, said in addressing the city council last week.

Woodbury was recognized for its Woodbury Water Wise Implementation Plan. The plan has led to less water use for landscaping, lawns, and toilets as well as increasing stormwater reuse. The program could save an estimated 282 million gallons of water per year.

The city had to be part of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency GreenStep Cities program to be eligible for the award. The program helps cities achieve their sustainability goals through adopting best practices.

In 2023, Woodbury showed improvement in eight metrics: energy use, renewable energy, city fleet, stormwater management best management practices, water usage, and waste management. One highlighted metric was the Enhanced Street Sweeping Program that prevented 800 tons of material from roadways from entering the city’s stormwater ponds or water resources last year.

Craig Johnson, the League’s senior intergovernmental relations representative, said the award is the group’s highest honor for this type of work. “Setting and achieving environmental and sustainability goals goes a long way toward improving the quality of life in any city, and Woodbury has led the way on that,” he said.