The secrets of hidden waterways | University of Minnesota Skip to main content
Wordmark of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
News and Events

Utility Menu

  • MyU
  • One Stop
  • Jobs

Common Search Terms

  • Housing
  • Libraries
  • Bookstore
  • Tuition Cost
  • Academic Calendar

News Section Menu

  • Topics
  • Story Archive
  • For Journalists
  • Events

Task List

  • MyU
  • One Stop
  • Jobs
  • COVID-19: Fall 2020
  • Topics
    • Agriculture & Environment
    • Architecture & Design
    • Arts & Humanities
    • Business & Management
    • Campus Affairs
    • COVID-19
    • Education
    • Health
    • Law & Policy
    • Science & Technology
    • Social Sciences
    • Sports & Recreation
  • Story Archive
  • For Journalists
  • Events

COVID-19: We’re committed to keeping students, staff, and faculty safe.
Find updates on operations, resources, and stories.

COVID-19 Response COVID-19 News

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News & Events
  3. The secrets of hidden waterways
Feature

The secrets of hidden waterways

August 13, 2021
Bassett Creek with a bridge in the background

Trinity Ek is drawn to water. The U of M senior is fascinated by the stories it tells, the way it shapes our landscape, and the role it’s played in the development of cities.

“There are so many stories to be told and learned along waterways,” says Ek, who’s majoring in urban studies and minoring in geographic information science, and environmental science policy and management. “That’s what I really love about water.”

Last summer, her research mentor from the U of M’s River Life Program, Patrick Nunnally, suggested she delve into the story of Bassett Creek. The creek, which runs 12 miles from Medicine Lake in Plymouth to the Mississippi River near the Plymouth Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis, is considered a “hidden waterway.”

Ek admits she knew nothing about Bassett Creek when she started the project. “In urban landscapes, we often hide water or find ways to work around it or completely remove it from the landscape,” she says.

By studying aerial and ground photos, demographic information, plat maps, development plans, and scholarly works, Ek saw how the creek changed over time and how it came to symbolize the intersection of “race, place, and hydrology.”

Bassett Creek was once considered the northern cousin of Minnehaha Creek. But rather than designating the land around it as a parkway, developers filled in sections of its swampy banks in the 1880s to make way for mills, railroads, and housing for workers. The creek became a dumping ground for garbage and industrial waste. “Most people saw Bassett Creek as a hazard,” Ek says.

In 1910, city planners built an underground tunnel to reroute the creek. But flooding was a perennial problem. Buildings and houses in the area, which had become home to marginalized communities, filled with water containing seepage from industrial waste and septic tanks after rains and snowmelt.

“In the long run, these hidden waterways expose themselves again. Water will find its way back, even if you try to hide it,” she says.

In 1936, buildings and homes along what’s now Olson Memorial Highway were torn down to make way for Sumner Field, Minnesota’s first federally funded housing project. But the creek once again had its way. Flooding continued to be a problem, as the tunnel could no longer handle the water that came in from rain and snowmelt. Plus, the conditions made the ground beneath the Sumner Field homes unstable, causing the buildings’ foundations to crack and sink.

In 2001, when the Sumner Field homes were razed and replaced with Heritage Park, a 900-unit housing complex, the creek was “daylighted,” bringing it above ground. A state-of-the-art water system that prevents flooding was constructed.

The city’s 2007 master plan for the Bassett Creek Valley calls for redevelopment of housing, commercial space, and open space. It also suggests reclaiming the creek itself.

Ek wrote about Bassett Creek in Open Rivers Journal. She also plans to focus her senior thesis on ways infrastructure investments influence the racial wealth gap. “As city planners and others are reorienting our natural landscapes—creeks, rivers, and forests—there’s a really big opportunity to provide equitable development or gentrification,” she says. “It will be interesting to watch in the coming decades.

(See other student research about hidden waterways, including a virtual-reality tour of Bassett Creek from College of Design student Preston McMahon.)
 

Learn more in Legacy magazine and view a slideshow.
  • Categories:
  • Architecture and Design
  • Social Sciences
  • Environmental health
  • Planning
  • Water
Share this story
  • Link to share current story on Twitter
  • Link to share current story on Facebook
  • Link to share current story via email

More stories in Architecture and Design

Fiyyaz Karim, Psy.D.
Expert Alert

Prolonged grief disorder recognizes intense feelings of loss

A new diagnosis called prolonged grief disorder was recently added to the latest edition of the DSM-5, the diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals.

Octo the CHD educational toy
Feature

Demystifying congenital heart disease through product design

A University student helped to create a better educational tool for children with congenital heart disease.

Editor's picks

Action shots of Gable Steveson and Bethany Hasz
Feature

Steveson, Hasz receive Big Ten Medal of Honor

Bethany Hasz and Gable Steveson are the U of M's recipients of this year’s Big Ten Medal of Honor.

Claire Busse in her band uniform
Feature

Turning lessons into leadership

Claire Busse developed a trauma-informed leadership training for peer leaders in the University of Minnesota’s marching band.

Betty Sandison reacts as her name is read during commencement.
Feature

Nothing is stopping her now

From a one-room schoolhouse to a large public research university, Betty Sandison’s educational journey is one for the ages.

Benjamin Alva stand before a blurry background of trees by a lake.
Feature

One student’s drive to save coral reefs

Graduating senior Benjamin Alva also aims to engineer products to support space exploration.

See all stories
UMN Crookston UMN Morris UMN Duluth UMN Twin Cities UMN Rochester

System Campuses

  • System Website
  • Crookston
  • Duluth
  • Morris
  • Rochester
  • Twin Cities

For Journalists

  • Find an Expert
  • For Journalists
  • Guidelines for Journalists
  • Meet the PR Team

Contact

[email protected] 612-624-5551
Do you know what
the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
does for you?
Driven to Discover Campaign

Connect with us

  • Link to U of M's Facebook page
  • Link to U of M's Instagram page
  • Link to U of M's LinkedIn page
  • Link to U of M's Twitter page
  • Link to U of M's Youtube page
Wordmark of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Crookston
  • Duluth
  • Morris
  • Rochester
  • Twin Cities
© Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Privacy Statement | Report Web Disability-Related Issue
Website Feedback