2024 GCW TMDL Implementation
East Rush Lake, West Rush Lake, and Goose Lake are three of the poorest lakes in Chisago County in terms of water quality, yet also some of the most heavily used lakes for recreation. All three are impaired for nutrients (total phosphorus) and rank at or near the bottom of the list of lakes in the county when all parameters are compared. The Goose Creek Watershed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS), which includes North and South Goose Lakes and East and West Rush Lakes, and the Rush Lake and Goose Lakes rural Subwatershed Assessment (SWA) have identified hundreds of potential rural, agricultural, and urban projects within the HUC-10 (07030005) Goose Creek Watershed (GCW). These projects have been prioritized by their potential reduction in total phosphorus loading per year and will be targeted in that order to achieve the greatest reduction per project. According to the Goose Creek Watershed TMDL study, the total watershed runoff phosphorus load reduction needed for North/South Goose Lakes is 4,935 pounds per year and East/West Rush Lakes is 6,663 pounds per year (Lbs/Yr). The Lower St. Croix Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (CWMP) broke the TMDL goal into a 10-year total phosphorus reduction goal per lake to 246.75 Lbs/Yr for Goose Lake and 333.15 Lbs/Yr for Rush Lake. The Lake St. Croix TMDL has a total phosphorus reduction goal for Goose Creek is 2,980 Lbs/Yr and Rush Creek is 2,451 Lbs/Yr. The goal of this grant is to provide technical and financial assistance in the HUC-10 GCW for the targeted implementation of at least 20 Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce watershed runoff phosphorus loading to North/South Goose and East/West Rush Lakes and the St. Croix River by a minimum of 140 Lbs/Yr.
Annie Felix-Gerth
(b) $8,500,000 the first year and $8,500,000 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.
This grant will reduce watershed runoff phosphorus loading in the HUC-10 Goose Creek Watershed by at least 140 Lbs/Yr by implementing 20 Best Management Practices (BMPs) in targeted priority areas where pollutant loading ranks moderate to very high.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS