Clear Lake - 2022 Soluable Phosphorus Management
The purpose of this project is to achieve the in-lake water quality goals set in the 2009 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Clear Lake, located in Meeker County. Projects and Programs to date have improved the average summer surface Total Phosphorus (TP) concentration from the 10-year average at the time of TMDL completion, 214 ug/L to a 10 year average of 110 ug/L in 2020. A lake response model for Clear Lake from TMDL was updated and calibrated in 2016 and showed the need for a 1,978 lb load reduction to meet the TP goals for the lake. The lake is very close to meeting TMDL goals. In lake soil cores ruled out in-lake internal lake load. Additional inflow monitoring identified significant loading from a northern complex of wetlands. Soil borings collected in that wetland in 2020 showed high anoxic release rates in the north wetland (up to 14 mg/square meter/ day- or up to 1,500 lbs/ year). This indicates that the existing upland projects and programs will not be sufficient to achieve the load reductions required for the lake to meet water quality goals. The installation of an Iron-Enhanced Sand Filter (IESF) at the northern wetland complex targets that loading and is proposed with this grant application. Through additional monitoring and modeling updates the District has developed a reasonable assurance that the load reduction can be achieved through implementation of the project described here and in coordination with the partners listed. Addressing the northern watershed wetland soluble P export is necessary to meet the water quality goal in Clear Lake. This project targets that loading.
Annie Felix-Gerth
(Projects and Practices)(b) $10,762,000 the first year and $11,504,000 the second year are for grants to local government units to protect and restore surface water and drinking water; to keep water on the land; to protect, enhance, and restore water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams; and to protect groundwater and drinking water, including feedlot water quality and subsurface sewage treatment system projects and stream bank, stream channel, shoreline restoration, and ravine stabilization projects. The projects must use practices demonstrated to be effective, be of long-lasting public benefit, include a match, and be consistent with total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans, watershed restoration and protection strategies (WRAPS), or local water management plans or their equivalents. Up to 20 percent of this appropriation is available for land-treatment projects and practices that benefit drinking water.
The installation of an IESF is estimated to reduce TP loading by 1,800 lbs/year to Clear Lake with a conservative effectiveness. This is the majority of to the 1,978 lb load reduction indicated by the updated lake response model.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS