The goal of this project is to establish load reduction requirements for impaired waters and to develop restoration strategies to improve water quality for impaired waters and protection strategies to maintain the quality of water for water bodies meeting standards.
The purpose of this project is to gain additional information about the amount of phosphorous flowing into Lake St Croix by implementing additional water quality monitoring and/or to reduce the amount of phosphorous entering Lake St Croix by the implementation of projects that will reduce phosphorus loadings. The St. Croix River Association (SCRA) will coordinate with a subgroup of the St. Croix Basin Water Resources Planning Team and other local resource experts on the identification and funding of comprehensive water monitoring and phosphorus reduction activities in the Lake St.
The goal of this project is to finalize the Lake Pepin Watershed phosphorus total maximum daily load (TMDL) report by using the existing information and documentation prepared under previous contracts to prepare one TMDL report that addresses the impairments on the mainstem of the Mississippi River. Information developed to date for draft TMDLs on the Minnesota River mainstem will be documented for later use by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
The goal of this project is to support the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in responding to public comments on the Lake Pepin Watershed Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), which were prepared by LimnoTech under previous phases of the project.
The consultant LimnoTech will support response to Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) comments the peer review process, United States Environmental Protection Agency and public notice. They will then revise the TMDL document as needed and attend internal and external project meetings.
This project will compile and review previously conducted studies and will prioritize best management practices (BMPs) based on a cost-benefit analysis of their pollutant load reductions and life cycle costs. It will also support the design and construction of BMPs, such as rain gardens and infiltration practices, within the Villa Park subwatershed of the Lake McCarrons watershed.
Lake Shaokatan and its 13.9 square mile watershed is the headwaters of Yellow Medicine River, which is one of the thirteen major watersheds in the Minnesota River and the largest watershed in Lincoln County. The primary land use is agriculture with the major crops being corn and soybeans. The trend for significant soil loss is due to the nature of the topography with the highest point in the Yellow Medicine Watershed in Lincoln County being 1,960 feet and the lowest being 1,160 feet, a drop of 800 feet in 25 miles.
The Riley-Purgatory-Bluff-Creek Watershed District and the City of Eden Prairie are working together to implement projects to remove Lake Riley and Rice Marsh Lake from the impaired waters list. One key emerging issue is to evaluate potential internal phosphorous loading within stormwater ponds in the lakes? subwatersheds. This project will also use updated pond data from the city?s intensive pond inspection program to identify other phosphorus reduction opportunities. The proposed assessment will quantify formerly undocumented P loading to Rice Marsh Lake and Lake Riley.
This project will repair and upgrade the water control structure and provide water quality enhancement measures on Oasis Pond in Roseville, Minnesota. This project will also protect the quality of downstream receiving waters; specifically Lake Johanna, by reducing phosphorus pollutant loads.
This project will provide information about the amount and sources of phosphorous flowing into Lake St Croix by implementing additional water quality monitoring and reduce the amount of phosphorous flowing into Lake St Croix by implementing phosphorous reduction activities. The St Croix River Association (SCRA) will coordinate with the St. Croix Basin Water Resources Planning Team (Basin Team) on the identification and funding of comprehensive water monitoring and phosphorus reduction activities in the Lake St. Croix portion of the St.
This project will develop an Implementation Plan for restoring Lake St. Croix and impaired waters within the contributing watershed, and protect waters currently attaining water quality standards.
Lambert Creek is wholly within the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization (VLAWMO) and is located in northeastern Ramsey County. Lambert Creek is surrounded by mainly residential land use and flows through three communities before discharging into East Vadnais Lake, which is the final impoundment reservoir containing the water supply that the Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) treats and then distributes to thirteen municipalities including the city of St. Paul.
Past and current monitoring data has shown Ramsey County's Lambert Creek has high levels of total phosphorus (TP), anywhere from 0.14 mg/L to 0.30 mg/L, which is above the proposed State standard of 0.10 mg/L for streams in the Central Region.
Capitol Region Watershed District and the City of Lauderdale seek to improve water quality and flood control functions of Seminary Pond in Lauderdale. The project partners propose improvements to the pond including: 1) expansion of the pond?s storage area and 2) construction of an iron-enhanced sand filter. These improvements were identified as being the most cost-effective and will remove an estimated additional 2 tons of sediment and 9 pounds of phosphorus annually.
This project will initiate the process of community engagement in the LeSueur River watershed by assessing the needs and interests of the community and bringing a diverse set of stakeholders together to determine how best to foster action in improving and protecting water quality.
Minnesota Departments of Information Technology Services (MNIT) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) are partnering with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to acquire high-resolution digital elevation data developed from airborne lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) for the Minnesota River East and West regions. The data will be used to generate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) for use in engineering design and design reviews, conservation planning, research, delivery, floodplain mapping, and hydrologic modeling utilizing lidar technology.
The MPCA has selected the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model to simulate watershed hydrology and water quality to assess various restoration scenarios in the Little Cannon River watershed. The SWAT model is an important tool in developing an understanding of existing conditions and simulating conditions under various management scenarios to inform the development of implementation strategies and plans to restore and protect streams and lakes.
The goal of this project is to identify watershed and in-lake best management practices (BMPs) to improve water quality for impaired water bodies within the Upper Long Lake Creek subwatershed. The existing P8 watershed model and BATHTUB lake response models will be updated and refined to identify BMPs, develop project costs, and estimate nutrient load reductions. A feasibility report will be developed that outlines prioritized projects, estimated load reductions, and project costs to accelerate implementation.
Lake Sarah is a regionally significant lake and currently suffers from excess phosphprus levels. Loretto Creek, located partially within the Cities of Medina and Loretto, is Lake Sarah's east tributary carrying approximately 269 pounds of phosphorus to the lake each year. This is a joint project between the Cities of Loretto and Medina developed for the Loretto ballfields to address this problem.
This project will gather watershed data necessary for the development of a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report to maintain and improve water quality for the St Louis River Watershed.
This project will revise a recently completed draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report for the Lower Minnesota River Watershed Project. The revision is to correct wasteload allocations for regulated stormwater entities.
The Rice Creek Watershed District is proposing to improve water quality and habitat in Locke Lake and Lower Rice Creek by stabilizing stream banks and bluffs on Lower Rice Creek, reducing in-stream erosion and sediment delivery to Locke Lake, and improving in-stream habitat complexity for fish and invertebrates. Eleven bank stabilization practices would be installed over a continuous 5,400-foot reach in Lower Rice Creek. The anticipated outcome of this project is the prevention of 2,874 tons per year of sediment, which is 58% of the sediment reduction goals for Lower Rice Creek.
The Lower Mississippi River Feedlot Management in MN project will be leveraging State funding from BWSR to provide match for a United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) Regional Conservations Partners Program (RCPP). BWSR will provide technical and financial assistance to plan and design projects to mitigate feedlot runoff from smaller (less than 300 animal units or AUs*), open lot feedlots in southeastern Minnesota.
The goal of this project is to develop draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) computations for six impaired lakes and two impaired streams, and to provide TMDL development documentation for selected draft TMDL report sections.
This project addresses six lakes that have aquatic recreation impairments and one creek reach that has a bacteria impairment for E. coli. The project will evaluate the water quality impairments, complete pollutant source assessments, and establish loading capacities and allocations for the impairments.
The Kohlman Lake nutrient reduction study identified a major source of phosphorus loading from the impervious areas like roads, roofs and parking lots within the watershed.. Within this area, one major land use feature stands out - Maplewood Mall. Retrofitting the Mall parking areas to infiltrate at least one inch of stormwater runoff will result in a large reduction in phosphorus to Kohlman Creek and the lake.
The Kohlman Lake TMDL calls for the reduction of nutrients from watershed and in-lake loading. A major source of phosphorus loading is from the impervious areas in the District (roads, interstates, roofs, and parking lots). In the analysis of the Kohlman Lake watershed, one major land use feature stands out - Maplewood Mall. The District identified that retrofitting the Mall parking areas to infiltrate at least one inch of runoff would result in a large reduction in phosphorus to Kohlman Creek and the lake.
The Master Water Stewards (MWS) program will install pollution prevention projects on both residential and commercial properties and educate citizens in their neighborhoods to reduce urban runoff and nutrient loads. Community leaders who have been identified, educated and certified as Stewards, will lead projects.
Capitol Region Watershed District and the City of St. Paul seek to improve the water quality of stormwater runoff to Como Lake in St. Paul and reuse stormwater to displace potable water use at the McMurray Fields complex within Como Regional Park. The project partners propose the construction of a stormwater reuse and infiltration system that will treat the stormwater volume equivalent of 1.1 inches over the impervious surface of the subwatershed, or 4.9 acre-feet. The drainage area to the proposed system is 130 acres, with 54 acres of impervious surfaces.
It is critical to train new staff, create modeling protocols for new BMPs, refine and calibrate models, and test ever-advancing modeling applications. The Metro Conservation District?s (MCD) Sub-Watershed Analysis (SWA) program provides these capacity-building services and unites efforts across 11 SWCDs. MCD proposes to analyze an additional 15 subwatersheds. The analyses will identify the location and estimated cost/benefit relationship for BMPs, evolve with new technology, and share discoveries metro-wide.
Through a long standing partnership, this project will continue to implement a process formalized with a 2010 Clean Water Fund Grant to conduct stormwater sub-watershed assessments. The goal of the sub-watershed assessments is to accelerate water quality improvements by focusing efforts in high priority areas. Specifically, subwatershed assessments are a tool used to identify the most effective urban stormwater conservation practice by location.
This project will establish a groundwater monitoring network in the 11 county metropolitan area. The network will provide information about aquifer characteristics and natural water trends by monitoring healthy aquifers (non-stressed systems). The project will also develop an automated system that captures groundwater level and water use data. This system will enhance evaluation of changes in aquifers that are stressed by pumping from existing wells.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) forms the core of a long-term program designed to measure and compare regional differences and trends in pollutant loadings from Minnesota’s mainstem rivers and the outlets of major watersheds and subwatersheds draining to these rivers.