The Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association, Lake Associations, as well as other eligible community partners to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff and keep water on the land. A mini-grant program to install rain gardens and native vegetation buffers along shorelines of lakes with a completed "Lake Assessment" supported by previous BWSR funding or a TMDL Implementation Plan will be implemented.
At 410 acres, Lake Owasso is the largest lake in the Grass Lake Water Management Organization (GLWMO) and one of the most pristine. Maintaining the lakes water quality is a priority for the GLWMO. A long urbanized area along Aladdin Street in Roseville currently lacks stormwater features to remove pollutants and reduce water volume. The rainwater from this area drains directly to a wetland which is hydrologically connected to Lake Owasso. Adjacent to the residential area is a 0.5 acre parking lot which drains into a ditch which eventually enters the same wetland.
The Ann River Watershed is a sub-watershed of the Snake River Watershed located within the St. Croix River Basin. The Ann River watershed includes Ann Lake, Fish Lake, Ann River and its tributaries. This project will focus on watershed load reductions. Based on the strategies found in the Implementation Plan, the first priority will be to target the animal and cropland - agricultural areas on the Ann River and its tributaries. The second priority will be to target the lake shore and streambank areas in the non-agricultural areas.
A direct appropriation of $400,000 in FY 2010 for the Anoka Conservation District (ACD) is for the metropolitan landscape restoration program for water quality and improvement projects in the seven-county metro area (the law also provides $600,000 for this purpose in FY2011).
A direct appropriation of $400,000 in FY 2010 and $600,000 in FY2011 for the Anoka Conservation District (ACD) is for the metropolitan landscape restoration program for water quality and improvement projects in the seven-county metro area.
South Central Technical Service Area (SCTSA) will use this Clean Water Fund grant to provide Soil and Water Conservation Districts and other local organizations in its eleven-county area with a Geographic Information System (GIS) Technician to assist in using available GIS information to target specific locations where Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be installed to help improve water quality.
The Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) is proposing to improve the water quality of stormwater runoff to Bald Eagle Lake through installation of a new wet pond and iron-enhanced sand filter (IESF) on Ramsey County Ditch #11. In partnership with White Bear Township, this project will remove approximately 43 pounds of phosphorus from runoff annually and builds upon the extensive work undertaken by the RCWD to improve water quality in Bald Eagle Lake.
Currently, over 235 miles of open ditch are under the jurisdiction of the Brown County Ditch Authority. A majority of Brown County public ditches drain into large, impaired rivers including the Minnesota River (Turbidity), Cottonwood River (Turbidity/Fecal Coliform), Little Cottonwood River (Turbidity/Fecal Coliform) and Watonwan River (Turbidity/Fecal Coliform). Thus far the Brown County Drainage Authority has been inventorying ditches as requested for repair by residents in the ditch system.
The Conservation Dashboard will provide the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District, its water plan, and local landowners a system to target, prioritize, and measure resource needs and effective conservation implementation within the subwatersheds of Carlton County. The Dashboard will identify where data gaps exist, translate the data in a way that partners and landowners easily understand, and insert Best Management Practice recommendations onto the county webmapping tool, used by citizens.
Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) will improve water quality in Casey Lake and ultimately Kohlman Lake through the installation of approximately 25 rain gardens on priority properties identified as part of the Casey Lake Urban Stormwater Retrofit Assessment completed by Ramsey Conservation District (RCD) in 2011.
Cedar and Farm Island are large recreational lakes located in the Aitkin/Brainerd Lakes area. Both lakes are showing significant downward trends in water clarity. The trend coincides with watershed development that increases water runoff. This project seeks to reverse that trend before these lakes degrade further and become impaired. Changing land uses now through incentives is a very cost-effective way to manage these lakes.
Lambert Creek discharges into Vadnais Lake, the final impoundment reservoir containing the potable water supply for the city of St. Paul and eight nearby suburbs. Monitoring data indicates high nutrient levels and the creek is listed by the State as having high bacterial levels. In-stream work along Lambert Creek has been maximized with restoration improvements achieving nutrient load reduction. The next step to further improve water quality is to concentrate on restoration efforts on a subwatershed level.
Pine Soil and Water Conservation District is partnering with the City of Sturgeon Lake to seal over 50% of the unused wells in the city limits. The City of Sturgeon Lake recently installed a municipal water supply system, and completed a Minnesota Department of Health approved Wellhead Protection Plan. Residents have connected to the new public water supply system and need to seal their unused wells.
With a population of approximately 3,500, the City of Mora is the largest municipality in the Snake River watershed. Monitoring indicates the city's Lake Mora has high levels of total phosphorus, total suspended solids, and other pollutants. This project will develop a plan that identifies several stormwater best management practices (BMPs) for the City of Mora and surrounding rural areas to address these impairments. Modeling and analysis will be used to target projects where they can provide the most benefit.
The Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (District) has determined that large impervious sites (like churches, commercial sites, and schools) are more economical for stormwater management retrofit projects than distributed small projects along roadways. The District began assessing church sites for retrofit opportunities in 2013 and will continue this effort in 2014. Church congregations have been receptive to partnering with the watershed district.
