Add WHP information on City website; Include WHP strategies and actions in the City newsletter; Move leaf composting site from the 1-year TOT area; Survey and well inventory; Survey shallow disposal wells; Training about BMP in the DWSMA
Seal abandoned, 14 unused public wells; Update GIS well database; Educate students; Water festival; Educate storage tank owners; Develop "Groundwater News" newsletter
Install fencing around municipal well site; Update PCSI; Contact Randolph Township and Dakota County regarding land use permits and zoning; Research to identify site for new municipal well
Phase I built the foundation for the South Fork Crow River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) and created a civic engagement plan. Civic engagement strategies were identified to create greater communication and watershed activities. Phase II provided the analytical and strategic foundation essential to prescribing protection and restoration strategies. These strategies focus on both protecting current fully supporting and restoring impaired surface water resources to water quality standards in the South Fork watershed.
The South Branch Wild Rice Sediment Reduction Project will implement 45 erosion control structures and 40 acres of filter strips to reduce sediment loading to the South Branch of the Wild Rice River in Becker County. Sediment leaving the project area contributes to water quality impairments downstream where Total Suspended Solids (TSS) are affecting aquatic life and aquatic recreation. This project is projected to reduce sediment loads leaving the project area by 26% and reduce TSS in the Lower Wild Rice River by 7%.
MPCA will administer funding to eligible Local Governmental Units to use MPCA-approved Advanced Inspectors to conduct work in accordance with Minn. Rules 7080, 7081, and 7083, which requires proper location, design, installation, use and maintenance of an individual subsurface sewage treatment system (SSTS) with a design flow of 2,500 gallons per day or more that protects the public health, safety, general welfare, and the environment by the discharge of adequately treated sewage to the groundwater. Multiple contracts will be awarded.
The Statewide Sediment Network was established to measure the levels of suspended sediment concentrations and particle size distributions at eight sites across Minnesota to evaluate the amount of sediment carried by rivers. USGS sample collection and laboratory analysis techniques provide a more rigorous, robust, and technically accurate measure of sediment in water than the current use of total suspended solids as the measure of sediment in water.
Nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) is one of the contaminants of greatest concern for groundwater in Minnesota. This funding is being used for activities that help identify the severity and magnitude of nitrate contamination and implement practices at the local level to reduce nitrate in groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is working with many local partners and passing funding through to local government units (counties, cities, soil and water conservation districts) to address this concern.
The MDA's technical assistance helps ensure that current and accurate scientific information is made available and used to address water quality concerns in agricultural areas of Minnesota. This funding has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices, share information from research and demonstration sites and enhance outreach and education to the agricultural community and local government partners.
The Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) program is in the process of issuing the small MS4 general permit to new permittees who have been designated based on the results of the 2010 Census. These permittees were notified on February 25, 2015 that they will need to apply for the Permit within 18 months. We need to provide outreach on stormwater management and environmental impacts to ensure that they achieve a basic understanding of why the MS4 Permit exists, and why their municipality is in the program.
Capitol Region Watershed District will partner with local organizations and private landowners to implement a variety of cost-effective Best Management Practices in the East Kittsondale subwatershed. The urbanized condition of the 1,860 acre subwatershed results in an estimated 1,500 pounds of phosphorus, over 470,000 pounds of sediment, and significant concentrations of bacteria associated with that sediment being sent untreated to the Mississippi River each year. Those pollutants have contributed to several impairments within the river.
This project will result in updates to existing information and incorporation of new information into the Minnesota Stormwater Manual. The information is used by stormwater practitioners to implement the most effective and cost-efficient practices for managing stormwater runoff volume and pollutants, in addition to meeting regulatory requirement associated with stormwater permits.
