The Le Sueur County SWCD Board of Supervisors has chosen the Lake Washington Improvement Association (LWIA) for the 2024 Outstanding Conservationists of the Year. Lake Washington is approximately a 1,516 acre lake, located primarily in Le Sueur County.

The Lake Washington Improvement Association is a volunteer board made up of 16 residents from Lake Washington, with one Director at Large that does not live on the lake. The overall goal of the association is to maintain and improve the water quality of Lake Washington. The association was first established in 1978. In 1991, they changed their name to the current version, the Lake Washington Improvement Association (LWIA), and became a nonprofit corporation.

The LWIA was selected as outstanding conservationists due to their dedication of maintaining and improving water quality. Over the years, the LWIA has been involved with constructing a dam on the outlet of the lake to help with water levels, countless conservation projects and easements and water quality monitoring. In 2020, the LWIA partnered with the Le Sueur County SWCD for a water storage pilot program, which created settling ponds and restored wetlands. These projects focus on capturing and reducing the amount of phosphorus that could go into the lake, reducing erosion, and improving the overall water quality of the lake.

The Lake Washington Improvement Association will be honored at the 2024 Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts annual convention. This will be held in early December at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington.