Rice Creek WD proposes completion of three projects during this WBIF cycle: 1) Clearwater Creek Stabilization Scoping: The portion of the Main Trunk of Anoka Washington Judicial Ditch 3 (AWJD3, also known as Clearwater Creek) downstream of I-35E has a steep grade with heavily scoured and sloughing banks due to high peak flows and channel velocities and unstable sandy soils.
Implementation of Vadnais Lake Area WMO (VLAWMO)'s existing Landscape Level 2 Grant Program to install at least 1 BMP project between 2023-2025 to make progress on water quality impairments within four priority subwatersheds: Lambert Creek, Goose, Birch, and Gilfillan-Tamarack-Black-Wilkinson-Amelia. Eligible BMPs include project types identified in the Board-approved Landscape Level 2 Grant Policy. The anticipated outcome is a reduction in phosphorus by at least 0.3 pounds annually. This activity will also result in strengthened partnerships with Vadnais Lake Area WPA communities.
Over the past 10 years, the Chisago SWCD has invested heavily in the Chisago Lakes Chain of Lakes watershed. In 2020, the fruits of that investment paid off when North and South Center Lakes, formerly impaired for excess nutrients, were de-listed from the MN Impaired Waters List. The other 16 lakes within the watershed are showing improving trends in Total Phosphorus (TP) and Chlorophyll-a concentrations and increasing clarity of the water.