Development of a Terrain Based Water Quality Model for the Carver County Water Management Organization
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.
Nicole Clapp
Accelerated Implementation Grant 2016: Laws of MN 2015 First Special Session Chapter 2, Article 7, Section 7
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.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS