Hawk Creek Watershed Project - Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) and Intensive Watershed Monitoring (IWM)
This project will monitor a total of eight sites (six through the Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network and two through the Intensive Watershed Monitoring). Through the Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network, six sites will be monitored within the Minnesota River - Granite Falls Watershed: Hawk Creek near Maynard, Hawk Creek near Granite Falls, Beaver Creek near Beaver Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Granite Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Hanley Falls, and Spring Creek near Hanley Falls. The goal of the project will be to accurately gather water quality samples and compute pollutant loads as part of an organized effort to determine spatial and long-term pollutant load information for sites across Minnesota. Through the Intensive Watershed Monitoring, two sites will be monitored in 2024-2025 within the Minnesota River - Mankato Watershed: Birch Coulee Creek and Threemile Creek. The sites will be monitored to collect surface water quality data to determine the health of the watershed's waterbodies and if they are in need of restoration or protection strategies.