The goal of this protect is to protect the water quality of the Mississippi River at Winona, MN through the installation of a downtown Winona parking lot rain garden.
The downtown Chanhassen stormwater best management practice (BMP) retrofit assessment project will reduce watershed phosphorus loads to Rice Marsh Lake and improve the water quality in downstream Lake Riley, impaired for excess nutrients. This project will identify innovative BMP retrofit opportunities that target soluble phosphorus and promote infiltration and groundwater recharge within this highly-developed area. The downtown Chanhassen BMP retrofit assessment project will be performed in partnership with the City of Chanhassen.
This project will identify and prioritize opportunities to implement a multipurpose drainage management plan that will provide adequate drainage capacity, reduce peak flows and flooding and reduce erosion and sediment loading, improving water quality to the West Branch Rum River.
The Drinking Water Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) program identifies environmental contaminants for which current health-based standards currently do not exist or need to be updated, investigate the potential for human exposure to these chemicals, and develop guidance values for drinking water. Contaminants evaluated by CEC staff include contaminants that have been released or detected in Minnesota waters (surface water and groundwater) or that have the potential to migrate to or be detected in Minnesota waters.
The purpose of the project is to fill critical data gaps - this data will provide a foundation for future development of watershed models, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports and the creation of a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report.
The goal of this project is to create a contact strategy for community/landowner opportunities, obstacles, and opinions on land management and water quality that will result in the identification of restoration and protection strategies for the East Fork Des Moines River watershed.
The Bell Museum will sort and identify all fish samples collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) North and South Biological Monitoring Units. The Bell Museum of Natural History (Bell Museum) will provide professional fish Identification expertise to the MPCA fish voucher program, while also helping the Bell Museum annually update their fish distribution map for the State of Minnesota. As the MPCA samples and vouchers species of significance, the Bell Museum shall catalog these species into their official fish collection.
The DNR works with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health to determine the level of contamination from mercury and other harmful chemicals in fish from Minnesota's lakes and rivers and to track the success of efforts to reduce mercury pollution. Clean Water Legacy funding is being used to significantly increase (more than double) the number of lakes and rivers that are assessed for mercury contamination on an annual basis. Fish are collected during DNR fishery surveys, processed for laboratory testing, and analyzed for contaminants.
The focus of this project will be on protection efforts to maintain or improve the water quality of Forest Lake by reducing phosphorus loads to the lake, especially from storm water. The two main objectives of this project are to compile and make minor updates to a large body of diagnostic work that already exists for Forest Lake, and to develop a comprehensive, site-specific implementation plan for best management practices (BMPs).
The Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Forest Resources Council work with forest landowners, managers and loggers to implement a set of voluntary sustainable forest management guidelines that include water quality best management practices (BMPs) to ensure sustainable habitat, clean water, and productive forest soils, all contributing to healthy watersheds. This project will monitor the implementation of these forest management guidelines and BMPs on forested watersheds in MN.
Le Sueur County has completed water quality assessments of its lakes, which are on the impaired waters list for excess nutrients. The Francis Rays Sakatah Tetonka Lakes Septic Inventory project will complete up to 400 shoreland septic compliance inspections, create an ArcMap GIS layer, create community assessment reports on priority areas and provide education and outreach to the public through informational meetings and website development. The project will also jump-start upgrading non-compliant septic systems.
Monitoring the health of Minnesota rivers is vital in determining, maintaining, and improving the health of the rivers for the environment and public use. The scope of this project is to collect surface water chemistry samples at designated sampling locations during appropriate time periods and at appropriate frequencies during these time periods for 1 year beginning in February 2015. The data collected and submitted to MPCA will provide information necessary to determine stream characteristics and calculate water quality pollutant loads.
Groundwater sample collection and analysis will be conducted for contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) at large subsurface treatment systems (LSTS) and rapid infiltration basins (RIB), using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methodology. Results from the ELISA analysis will be reported to the MPCA and used to conduct follow-up investigations at a select number of these sites.
This grant will cover all components of water chemistry sampling for pollutant load monitoring at four sites. Of those four sites, two of them are subwatershed sites that will be monitored seasonally and two of them are basin/major watershed sites that will be monitored year round. The Monitoring Coordinator for the Sauk River Watershed District will be responsible for sample collection, data management tasks, attending weekly call in meetings and will coordinate additional help from other staff members and/or interns if needed.
The purpose of this monitoring project is to maintain water quality data collection, build on local partnerships, and develop a better of understanding of what impacts the rivers located in central Minnesota.
Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will subcontract with Clearwater River Watershed District (CRWD) to cooperatively coordinate monitoring of three locations within the Mississippi River (St. Cloud) Watershed. A total of four staff (two from each district) will communicate to ensure that the locations are monitored according to the WPLMN Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for AIS and non AIS sites
The purpose of this project is to develop a framework to implement best management practices (BMPs) on ditches in headwater areas utilizing a partnership between drainage staff and the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA). By replacing failing side-inlets with an alternative design, we can make strides towards our water quality and water quantity goals. The alternative inlets serve to prevent sediment and phosphorus from washing downstream and the design can also alleviate peak flows by temporarily storing stormwater.
Provide education, outreach and civic engagement necessary for the development of structural and non-structural best management practices needed to improve water quality within the Greater Blue Earth River Basin. General Education will have a regional focus to landowners. Outreach effort will be focused on regional officials, staff and landowners. Civic engagement efforts will have a smaller watershed scale focus with efforts resulting in structural BMPs being placed on the land and non-structural BMPs being adopted. Implementation of structural best management practices on the land.
This project will install nearly 800 linear feet of restored lakeshore with an emphasis on bioengineering techniques, native plants and locating buffers/swales at points of concentrated overland flow into Green Lake. By targeting properties that are eroding and/or with concentrated overland flow to the lake we will reduce suspended solids discharge by 16,697 lbs/yr and phosphorus by 1.3 lbs/yr.
Minnesota’s use of groundwater has increased over the last two decades. An increasing reliance on groundwater may not be a sustainable path for continued economic growth and development. The DNR is establishing three pilot groundwater management areas (GWMA) to help improve groundwater appropriation decisions and help groundwater users better understand and plan for future groundwater needs associated with economic development.
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 Hawk Creek Watershed.
This project will sample and monitor 18 sites for chemical, physical and bacteriological parameters for two years in coordination with the 2015-16 Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG) work plan proposal. Headwaters Science Center (HSC) will be the project lead and recruit volunteer students from Trek North, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig, and Deer Lake high schools as well as to two AmeriCorps volunteer crews. An experienced Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) environmental scientist will be the project lead responsible for oversight and full compliance to MPCA protocols.
The goal of this project is to continue and finalize Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model construction and complete the calibration/validation process for the Minnesota River–Headwaters and Lac qui Parle watersheds that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports.
The goal of this project is to continue and finalize Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model construction and complete the calibration/validation process. The consultants will produce HSPF watershed model applications for the Lake Superior North and Lake Superior South watersheds that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) projects.
This project will finalize the guidance document to ensture consistency and validity of future Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) model applications within the State of MN. This improved guidance will help to ensure consistency and validity of future HSPF model applications within the State as part of the One Water Program.
The goal of this project is to construct, calibrate, and validate two Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models: Lake Superior North and Lake Superior -South. The contractor will produce HSPF models that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). The contractor will clearly demonstrate that these models generate predicted output timeseries for hydrology, sediment, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen which are consistent with available sets of observed data.
Construct, calibrate and validate 3 Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models for the St Louis, Cloquet, and Nemadji River Watersheds.
Construct, calibrate, and validate three Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
The goal of this work is to enhance the Scenario Analysis Manager (SAM) tool. These enhancements will enable point source and stressor identification staff within the state to quickly access data, facilitate their research, and develop scenarios. This work will focus on the development of SAM by creating a user friendly interface, expanding the BMP database, and improving the BMP simulation methodology including optimization functionality. Additionally, this work includes development of a HSPF validation tool, testing and QAQC, and provides documentation and training to expected users.
Pasture and hayland account for 62% of the agricultural land use in Clearwater County. In 2012, it was the 12th largest producer of beef cattle in Minnesota. In a county where 22% of pasture/hayland acres are within 300 feet of riparian areas, management practices need to be introduced that enhance rather than restrict the farm operations that use these zones for their livelihood. Clearwater County's Silver Creek and Ruffy Brook are currently listed as impaired by fecal coliform.
The Minnesota River Basin Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) models simulate sediment erosion and transport, however these models periodically need to be adjusted to be consistent with the most recent sources of information regarding sediment distribution and loading rates. The goal of this project is to refine the sediment source partitioning and simulation in the Minnesota River basin using all relevant available sources of information.
The Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District will conduct a river assessment to determine the scope of eroding riverbanks and a stormwater modeling project to identify targeted locations for stormwater management. The river assessment will: 1) verify that streambank erosion is the major contributor of pollutants, including sediment, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen; 2) catalog and quantify the erosion, and; 3) provide an assessment of reductions that could be achieved using specific solutions.
