Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG) 2023

The goal of this project is to complete a water chemistry dataset necessary for the assessment of sixteen (16) Leech Lake Reservation lakes and one stream site within the Leech Lake River Watershed for the determination of overall watershed health, and the identification of impaired waters (according to State water quality standards), or waters in need of additional protection to prevent future impairments. The project is a part of the Leech Lake River Intensive Watershed Monitoring effort led by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

It is advantageous for the Band to collaborate with federal, state, and local partners to obtain the largest and most intricate water quality data set possible for the analyzation of current conditions and historic trends in Reservation waters to help inform the Band's assessment of water quality in Reservation lakes and streams under its own standards in the future.