2020 NE St. Cloud Sediment Reduction Project

Due to the importance of the Mississippi River on local, state, and national levels, the City of St. Cloud made it a priority to actively protect this resource. This project provides the City an opportunity to continue ongoing efforts to reduce pollutant loading to the Mississippi from their NE drainage area, which was identified in the City's Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) as a high priority source of pollutants (sediments and nutrients). The NE drainage area is a significant source of sediment discharge to the Mississippi River and discharges to the pool of water utilized by the city as their sole drinking water source. St. Cloud completed a watershed drainage analysis for this area and has made the implementation of projects within this subwatershed a high priority.
Two types of best management practices (BMPs) will be implemented to target nutrient/sediment reduction to the Mississippi. The first component will be the retrofitting of existing storm sewer to install sedimentation structures with energy dissipaters which will capture sediment and pollutants prior to directly discharging to the Mississippi River. The sumps will be strategically placed within the subwatershed maximizing the amount of runoff treated. The second will include the addition of a rainwater garden as a partnership with the redevelopment of private property, the Culligan Redevelopment Project. These activities will result in the removal of approximately 1,800 lbs of sediment per year.
These efforts are part of an established 15-year implementation project that Benton Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and St. Cloud have been partnering on since 2014. St. Cloud, Benton SWCD, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), and the MN Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have contributed to the installation of 6 individual projects, resulting in 35.3% progress towards our 15-year, 70% overall sediment reduction goal. This project will result in a total 37.2% progress towards the goal