STILLWATER — The state is providing more than $1 million in grants to help clean lakes and rivers across Washington County and restore their surrounding areas.

Several projects were already underway in the county’s seven watershed districts, but the grants will be used to fund additional projects that are a little more expensive.

One project involves spending $360,000 to modify an existing wetland in Bixby Park in the Forest Lake area. The aim is to improve water quality and reduce dissolved phosphorus that accumulates downstream.

It’s all part of a larger effort to transform the park, formerly a city compost site, into a 100-acre nature preserve. The work will also undo the consequences of a ditch that ended up compromising the wetland’s natural ability to filter out phosphorus and other chemicals.