2014 Side Water Inlet and Buffer Inventory

The City of Thief River Falls drinking water is taken from a 135 acre reservoir that is supplied by the Thief River and Red Lake River. Sedimentation and erosion have significant impacts to the waters in Pennington County. The reservoir is filling with sediment faster than expected. Buffers and side water inlets will help reduce sediment and improve water quality for these types of erosion. Buffers would also reduce nutrients polluting the waters in Pennington County and have a beneficial impact to the dissolved oxygen impairment on both the Red Lake and Thief River. Establishing an inventory of priority sites for side water inlets and buffers will allow the Pennington Soil and Water Conservation District to target areas where there is high erosion and sedimentation contributing to the reservoir filling faster than anticipated, as well as the impaired waters in the County.