The City of Cold Spring is looking to retrofit 24 acres of existing development within a 138 acre subcatchment of the City to improve the water quality of Cold Spring Creek, a designated trout stream. The large amounts of hard surfaces within the subcatchment area do not allow for rainfall or snow melt to soak into the ground. The stormwater carries with it sediment, bacteria, automotive fluids, and other pollutants. Cold Spring staff has frequently witnessed sediment plumes, the color of chocolate milk, at the storm sewer outfalls.
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.
Lambert Creek is wholly within the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Area. Vadnais Lake is the drinking water reservoir for the City of St. Paul and surrounding communities. Lambert Creek has elevated bacteria and nutrient levels and water quality in Vadnais Lake will not improve unless there is a reduction in the phosphorus loading from Lambert Creek.
This project will provide Soil and Water Conservation Districts the opportunity to nominate an individual, business, company, municipality or organization for their concern, cooperation and/or implementation of conservation practices in a community environment. This award recognizes nominees that have excelled in a variety of categories which include: storm water management; land use conservation planning and implementation, and leadership relating to community conservation practices.
This project will consist of a literature and data review and compilation of E. coli information from available sources including but not limited to EQuIS database, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS), One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P), Source Water Plans (MDH), Microbial Source Tracking (MST) data provided by the MPCA, and other relevant sources for bacteria data.
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.
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.
Tetra Tech will gather information for eventual incorporation into the Minnesota Stormwater Manual. The Stormwater Manual is used by stormwater practitioners to make decisions related to stormwater management, such as selecting appropriate Best Management Practices, meeting stormwater regulatory requirements, and determining pollutant and stormwater volume reductions associated with implementation of different stormwater management practices. The goal is to update existing information and provide new information on active construction site erosion prevention and sediment control.
This project will provide notification of the potential for coal tar contamination, establish a storm water pond inventory schedule, and develop best management practices for treating and cleaning up contaminated sediments. The sampling design includes 15 stormwater ponds, 5 each from residential, commercial, and industrial land use areas. Municipalities in the metro area with MS4 permits of stormwater ponds will be contacted to nominate candidate sites for this study. GPS coordinates will be taken at all sampling sites.
The goal of this project is to develop a core team of wastewater professionals and academics engaged in understanding and solving wastewater-related problems in Minnesota, with national relevance. The team will promote the use of new technology, designs and practices to address existing and emerging wastewater treatement challenges, including the treatement of wastewater for reuse and the emergence of new and unregulated contaminants.
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.
USGS will complete the following activities in support of the SCSU project Assessing the Contribution of Microhabitat Differences on Biological Effects in Bluegill Sunfish in Sullivan Lake, MN-Continuation of MN Lakes Study 2010-2011. Geospatial analysis of maps, aerial photography, satellite imagery, GIS data, and field mapping (topography, bathymetry, vegetation, habitat); Bulk characterization of the physical and chemical features of the littoral zone, inflows, and outflows.
This project is for Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) development in the Rainy River Headwaters watershed. The recipient will provide support for outreach and engagement in Rainy River Headwaters and Lake Superior North watersheds. They will also support watershed gap monitoring and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) gage monitoring.
In conjunction with the Board of Soil and Water Resources (BWSR), the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is developing a process for public participation that can be used across Minnesota Water Quality Framework programs such as 1 Watershed, 1 Plan, Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS), Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies, and others. This contract will provide support for a northern Minnesota Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to assist in shaping the statewide guidance.
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 goal of this project is to develop and complete the Watershed Restoration and Protection (WRAP) process and report, while also enlarging and sustaining a public participation process that encourages local ownership of water quality problems and solutions (civic engagement).
Civic engagement strategies including education public participation in watershed work and expanded knowledge, technical input into and review of stressor id process and report, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports, implementation plans and protecion strategies.
The project work for this effort includes watershed wide civic engagement and technical support to the final years of Watershed Restoration And Protection Strategy (WRAPS) work. Communication to stakeholders and other key civic based activities to share WRAPS information will be completed. The Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will also provide technical support to aid completion of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report and help define protection and restoration strategies for the watershed.
Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District (Cook SWCD) will be working with up to four volunteers in the Rainy River Watershed Headwaters to monitor the Cross River during 2014 and 2015.The area of the stream being monitored is located 45 miles north of Grand Marais, MN. The area is remote and travel is slow to the stream. It is an area that was affected by fires with vegetation in the beginning years of succession. There are lodges, resorts and residents scattered throughout the area. The parameters monitored are set by the MPCA, along with the frequency of sampling.
Two years of condition monitoring, data management, and project oversight for five stream locations within the Lake Superior North major watershed. The Soil and Water Conservation District will monitor the surface water bodies to aid in gaining a better understanding of the water quality in the area. The information gathered will aid in baseline data for lakes and streams and inform the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Watershed Restoration and Protection (WRAPS) process.
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 Cottonwood River watershed is one of the last remaining watersheds to complete Cycle I of the Watershed Restoration & Protections Strategies (WRAPS) process. The scope of this project upon completion is have two reports developed; a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies report and a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the entire watershed.
This project will establish a framework with County, Soil and Water Conservation District and watershed staff that will outline their involvement throughout the development of the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) for the Cottonwood River and Redwood River watersheds.
The County Well Index (CWI) contains well and boring records wells within Minnesota; over 400,000 records. It is the principal source of well construction information and geologic interpretations of well records and also contains soil boring records, mineral exploration test hole records, and scientific/research test hole records.
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.
