Development of a Terrain Based Water Quality Model for the Carver County Water Management Organization

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2016 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$31,000
Fund Source
Clean Water Fund
Recipient
Carver County WMO
Recipient Type
Local/Regional Government
Status
In Progress
Start Date
January 2016
End Date
December 2018
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Carver
Carver
Project Overview

Carver County has identified water quality improvement of Carver, Bevens and Silver Creek as a water management priority. This project will identify storage or wetland restoration sites that are highly effective at reducing pollutant loading to downstream impaired waters using high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and Geographic Information System (GIS) processes. The watershed landscape has been highly modified for agricultural production land development; less than 50 percent of pre-settlement wetland acres remain in Carver County. The creation of runoff storage is a viable tool to improve water quality in Carver, Bevens and Silver Creek. While there are potentially many restoration sites, the water quality impact from an individual site depends on the site's physical characteristics, watershed size, and land use. These factors impact sediment and nutrient loading and removal effectiveness of wetland restorations and storage practices. Potential sites that are evaluated now are done so opportunistically without a watershed wide evaluation of their effectiveness. The project will allow Carver County to prioritize sites and pursue the most effective storage and wetland restoration sites to accelerate implementation. The outcome of this project will be a comprehensive document for guiding the targeting of wetland restorations resulting in measurable water quality and flood reduction benefits for priority resources.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Conflict of Interest Contact

Nicole Clapp

Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of MN 2015 1st Special Session Chapter 2, Article 2, Section 7
Appropriation Language

Accelerated Implementation Grant 2016: Laws of MN 2015 First Special Session Chapter 2, Article 7, Section 7

2016 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$31,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$7,750
Direct expenses
$31,000
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.12
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

The outcome of this project will be a comprehensive document for guiding the targeting of wetland restorations resulting in measurable water quality and flood reduction benefits for priority resources.

Source of Additional Funds

LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS

Recipient Board Members
Members for Carver County WMO are:
Project Manager
First Name
Charlie
Last Name
Sawdey
Organization Name
Carver County WMO
Street Address
600 East 4th Street
City
Chaska
State
MN
Zip Code
55318
Phone
952-361-1810
Email
csawdey@co.carver.mn.us
Administered By
Administered by
Location

520 Lafayette Road North
St. Paul, MN 55155

Phone
651- 296-3767