This project is the ecological restoration of 1,400 feet of Shingle Creek, an Impaired Water for low dissolved oxygen and impaired biota, in Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park. The Shingle Creek Impaired Biota and Dissolved Oxygen Total Maximum Daily Load requires sediment oxygen demand load reductions and establishes restoration design standards to enhance habitat that will be incorporated into this project.
Enrollment of private lands in conservation programs can provide important natural resource and other public benefits by taking the lands out of production so that they can provide various wildlife, water quality, and ecological benefits. This appropriation is enabling the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources to continue to provide grants to local soil and water conservation districts for employment of technical staff to assist private landowners in implementing conservation programs.
Significant interest exists across Hennepin County for providing additional water and natural resources education, engagement, and technical assistance to residents that leads to implementation of conservation practices on more residential properties and across more communities. WMWA, Hennepin County, and 5 metro Watershed-Based Implementation Funding (WBIF) convening groups propose a pilot program funded in part by metro WBIF allocations.
Conservation or Managed drainage refers to efforts made to modify traditional tile drainage designs to operate more effectively. This conservation drainage project, located in Kandiyohi County, is a win-win solution to common trade offs in crop production. Draining fields in the spring and fall enables crops to be planted and harvested, but draining fields throughout the growing season can take water away from crops when they need it. Subsurface drainage can also adversely impact water quality by carrying nitrate and soluble phosphorus into downstream water bodies.
The Board of Water and Soil Resources is required to contract with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa (formerly Minnesota Conservation Corps), or CCMI, for installation of conservation practices benefitting water quality for at least $500,000 in each year of the 2010-11 biennium.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
Since collection of digital easement data within the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR) first began in the late 1990's, every effort had been made to keep the database accurate and complete. However, over a decade later, and with over 5,000 easements and growing, it became prudent (particularly with the advent of more advanced technology) to reexamine, update, and enhance that database.
Develop a grant program to provide one-time signup incentive payments to private landowners enrolling or re-enrolling in the federal continuous CRP. Local Government Unit staff will implement the program.
A partnership of local, state and federal organizations has used multiple funding sources to target nonpoint pollution reduction efforts to the Hay Creek Watershed, a 24-square-mile area in Becker County that features several high- quality lakes. Clean Water Legacy grants were received in 2008 by the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District and in 2011 by the Becker SWCD. The grants leveraged both local and federal dollars, and it built on previous efforts to identify locations where conservation projects could provide the greatest benefits for water quality and wildlife habitat.
This project will enable community partners to implement 5-10 shoreline erosion reduction best management projects that will reduce sediment and improve water quality of county lakes and streams. Preference will be given to properties within a watershed of a Total Maximum Daily Load study, properties on a sentinel lake, properties on lakes and streams with active associations, and projects ranking high in sediment reduction amount. Projects may include engineered erosion reduction Best Management Practices and/or plantings.
The South St. Louis SWCD will collaborate with the City of Duluth to implement 13 stormwater BMPs in two high priority parks in the Miller Creek Watershed. The proposed BMP locations were prioritized by the city & SWCD based on the desire to coordinate with upcoming construction planned for Lincoln Park & on the sediment impacts resulting from worsening erosion problems in Piedmont Park.
This project will install new stormwater treatment practices in neighborhoods directly draining to Coon Lake. The objective is to remove phosphorus, which fuels algae growth, before the water is discharged into the lake. Seventeen potential project sites have been identified and ranked and include curb-cut rain gardens, swales, stabilizing stormwater discharge points, and a basin outlet modification.
In an attempt to protect existing exceptional lake and wetland resources, the Cormorant Lakes Watershed District (CLWD) is proactively implementing erosion and sediment control practices. At the present time, since none of the lakes are impaired but development pressure is increasing, a non-degradation strategy is necessary to ensure the desired long-term water quality in the District's lakes.
Bejou, Shoe and Dahlberg lakes are located in the upper reaches of one of the most popular fisheries in the region, the Cormorant Lakes chain.
Water quality issues impacting Bejou Lake were identified through the use of aerial photography. Results determined that a significant amount of sediment was being deposited into Bejou Lake from the 84 acre adjacent watershed. Several areas where water, sediment and erosion control basins could greatly reduce the amounts of sediments being delivered to the lake were identified.
Most municipalities located in Cass County are adjacent to surface waters that drain into the Upper Mississippi River Watershed. In some cases, over 30% of the community consists of impervious surface coverage. Few, if any of these communities have done any work to retrofit existing stormwater systems. As a result, large amounts of untreated stormwater carrying phosphorus, nitrogen and sediments enter the river. These impacts have resulted in the degrading of water quality in the watershed.
Crow Wing County, in cooperation with the municipalities within the County, plans to continue its successful well sealing program that pays 50% of the cost to seal unused/abandoned wells up to a maximum of $1000 per well. The amount of funding requested is $31,000 which is estimated to allow for the sealing of 80-100 wells. From 2012 to 2015, Crow Wing County sealed 65 wells as part of an earlier MDH well sealing grant from the Clean Water Fund. Priority will be given to wells located in or near existing wellhead protection areas.
The Cottageville Park Water Quality Protection and Stream Restoration Project was developed to meet the goals of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the City of Hopkins, including; water resource management, channel stabilization, stream enhancement, riparian corridor improvements, open space creation, park development, and revitalization. The project achieves these goals through implementation of the following:
The purpose of this project is to install prioritized and targeted best management practices on the Carver County Ditch #6 drainage system that drains directly into Bevens Creek. Bevens Creek does not meet state water quality standards for sediment. The goal of the project is to install 6 grade stabilization structures, 5 grassed waterways, and 2 water and sediment control basins that have been identified through GIS LIDAR applications and field verified along with landowner support.
Okabena Lake, in Worthington, Minnesota, is plagued by excess phosphorus and sediment loading that causes harmful algae blooms and poor water clarity. Excess nutrients and sediment contribute to the impaired status of the lake, occasional objectionable odors, reduced recreational use, lack of aquatic plants and less diverse aquatic life. The lake has both regional and local importance. It is identified as a high priority in county, watershed, and Missouri River Watershed CWMP plans.
Nearly 700 miles of open water flow through Faribault County's borders. Over one-third of these miles are artificial drainage systems. Artificial drainage systems are necessary to remove excess precipitation and improve the productivity of agricultural land, however they also have a direct effect on the water quality and quantity of receiving waterbodies. With limited resources available to manage these systems, innovative and efficient management tools will play a critical role in targeting improvements for water quality.
