Prior Lake, the second most visited lake in the metro, and Spring Lake are both impaired for excess nutrients. The Prior Lake Spring Lake FY 2025 request would seek to fund two projects to reduce nutrients in the upper watershed:
This project will result in a series of classes (provided by Minnesota Management and Budget's Enterprise Talent Development) to train the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Watershed Division to more effectively and efficiently manage watershed projects.
The SWCD initiated Project Recharge to create and apply a protection strategy to address declining water quality trend reported in a 2008 large lakes analysis. The report contained watershed and trend analysis for lakes over 1,000 acres in size and led to targeting of lands located within lakesheds containing the highest ratio of impervious to pervious surfaces. These included the Cities of Breezy Point, Crosslake, and Fifty Lakes.
Turbidity and E.coli impairments characterize the Clearwater River Watershed and its sub-watersheds. Focused protective efforts in this watershed have helped, but more work is vitally needed to further improve the quality of water. Several recent studies on the Clearwater River watershed and its sub-watersheds, Lost River and Silver Creek will be used to direct the work.
A family dairy farm in the shoreland area of Lake Miltona has a liquid manure storage area that is not up to standards due to sandy soil and a high water table, increasing the likelihood of groundwater contamination. Lake Miltona is connected to the Alexandria Area Chain of Lakes and ultimately the water ends up in the Long Praire River. Groundwater impacts to the Long Prairie River have the potential to be significant.
A large portion of Otter Tail County has been identified as being susceptible to groundwater contamination from nitrates and other water soluble contaminants. Agriculture is the predominant land use activity in this area. Irrigation in the county has increased in the last few years. With the vast majority of the residents getting their drinking water from groundwater sources, protecting ground is a priority for the county.
This project will protect the groundwater and the city of Princeton's drinking water from nutrient contamination associated with livestock manure storage. Well water tested throughout Mille Lacs County, and specifically within the Anoka Sand Plain area of Princeton, routinely indicate the presence of nitrates in shallow drinking water wells.
Private wells provide drinking water for the rural residents of Lac qui Parle County. This project will retrofit 35 well pits allowing the homeowner to continue using a serviceable well while safeguarding the source of their drinking water. Well pits, which are similar to a below-ground cistern, were once a common practice to prevent freezing in the winter. Many of these pits remain in use today. However, well pits are subject to flooding, especially if they are located in a floodplain. Flooding can contaminate the well and groundwater with bacteria from unknown sources.
Lake Miltona is considered one of the finest lakes in Central Minnesota and its 15 miles of lake shore make it the largest lake in Douglas County. Smokey Timbers Youth Camp, owned by the Smokey Timbers Foundation, is located on the north side of Lake Miltona. There is currently an erosion problem at the camp where a large gully has developed that drains into the lake.
Resort owners and recreational enthusiasts rely on Bostic and Zippel Bays to provide them with protected access to Lake of the Woods. Without these bays, access to the large lake would be very limited. Tourism, specifically water recreation, is a mainstay of the local economy. Complaints of limited navigability within the bays and reports of annual dredging made these watersheds the priority concern in the Local Water Management Plan.
Del Clark Lake is a regionally unique resource in the Lac qui Parle Watershed. This grant contains both restoration and protection strategies aiming to maintain the quality of this rare and valuable resource in addition to restoring the recently impaired Canby Creek, which feeds into Del Clark Lake. Three grade control structures will be implemented just upstream of Del Clark to protect against sediment and aid in regulating flows. An estimate 240 pounds of phosphorous and 2,700 tons of sediment will be reduced annually.
This project will review highly erodible land plans for landowner/operator compliance and update plans with landowners that are not meeting plan requirements due to changes in their operations.
This project will, over a 27 month period, fund a 0.75 Full Time Equivalent Conservation Planning Specialist position to update approximately 400 United States Department of Agriculture Highly Erodable Lands conservation plans on 40,000 acres in high priority areas within the Root River watershed. Currently, only 5% of the USDA conservation plans -approximately 40 per year - are being checked for compliance, and this project will increase that number to 150 or more per year.
This grant application will focus on the construction of multiple targeted best management practices (BMPs) in priority areas which will provide measurable reductions in sediment and phosphorus loadings to cold water streams in the Mississippi River/Lake Pepin Watershed. The installation of these BMPs will also protect the existing stream habitat by reducing peak flows and reduced streambank erosion.
The glacial geology of Ramsey County includes many layers of impermeable and semi-permeable material that can protect aquifers from contaminated waters. Many municipal public supply wells exist to draw water from these aquifers to supply thousands of consumers on a daily basis. Unfortunately, abandoned/unused wells also penetrate the protective layers of glacial material and can "short-circuit" the natural protection our glacial geology can provide allowing unfettered movement of contamination to even deeper aquifers below the ground.
This will fund a competitive grant program for sewer projects that will help protect or restore the water quality of waters in national parks located within Minnesota.
This project is for technical assistance during the Lake Winona Nutrient Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) public notice and revisions to the document prior to sending to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for final approval.
Golden Lake does not meet state water quality standards due to high phosphorus levels. The proposed iron enhanced sand filter basin was identified in the Golden Lake Subwatershed Stormwater Retrofit Analysis to be one of the most cost effective remaining practices for reducing external phosphorus loads to Golden Lake. This project, paired with two previously installed upstream Best Management Practices, will achieve on average, 84% of the phosphorus reduction goal for the watershed.
Realizing the need for increased technical capacity in the field offices, the Becker, East Otter Tail and West Otter Tail Soil and Water Conservation Districts have developed an agreement that will increase technical capacity while minimizing costs to each district. The first step was taken in this agreement through the recent hire of a shared engineer. Currently, minimal survey grade equipment is owned by the districts. This grant will be used to purchase an integrated survey system.
This project will reduce sediment to the Minnesota River, control erosion and reduce sedimentation in a local DNR Protected Water and protect private land and public infrastructure. The County Road (CR) 6 ravine (Quarry Creek) cuts through the Minnesota River valley bluff in Blakeley Township. Active channel incision and erosion within the ravine has caused large amounts of sediment to be deposited under the bridge at CR 6 such that the road is frequently flooded and sediment has to be removed several times a year.
In 2007, the City of Lakeland and the Middle St. Croix Watershed Management Organization identified water quality issues related to the existing drainage on Quixote Avenue, a paved north/south roadway directly adjacent to the St. Croix River bluffline. Currently, Quixote Avenue collects and drains stormwater runoff from residential lots and roadways before it concentrates at the end of the roadway and discharges over the bluffline directly into Lake St. Croix.
There are seven major watersheds Koochiching County, this project will work in five of them: Big Fork, Little Fork, Rapid River, Lower Rainy River, and Rainy River Headwaters watersheds. The local Koochiching County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is positioned to assist in several elements of the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) process. This includes gap monitoring for water chemistry, sediment work, TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) development, modeling scenarios, and WRAPS development.
The purpose of this project is for North Saint Louis Soil and Water Conservation District to continue to assist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's watershed approach and development of the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) reports in the Rainy River-Headwaters and Vermilion River Watersheds.
The purpose of this project is for Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District to continue to assist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) watershed approach and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy development process in the Rainy River Headwaters watershed. Working alongside other MPCA partners, Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District will provide guidance for the MPCA's watershed approach to address local needs through participation in technical, planning, and Core Team meetings as well as review of produced reports.
The purpose of this project is to develop implementation prioritization strategies to restore and protect the Vermilion River and Rainy River-Headwaters watersheds’ waterbodies and finalize Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) reports for both the Vermilion River and Rainy River-Headwaters watersheds.
The purpose of this project is to establish an International Watershed Coordinator for the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River (LOW/RR) watershed, to assist the MPCA in facilitating and enhancing civic engagement through collaboration and integration of the efforts of groups working on watershed activities at local, state/provincial and bi-national levels of organization.
The University of Minnesota will develop effective interview questions for community watershed assessments in the Rainy River basin and provide assistance in understanding the data collected through community interviews.
The Rainy River Basin WPLMN Sampling Program will focus on watershed load monitoring in the Big Fork River, Little Fork River, Rainy River-Rainy Lake, and Vermilion River watersheds. Four total staff will work on various portions of this agreement. The main objective is for one lead sampler and one backup sampler to collect water chemistry and field parameters for eight (8) sites, annually at various flows, especially peak flows, and utilize that data to determine the amount of pollutant load into each stream system.
This project will meet the following goals: develop, implement, and evaluate the impacts civic engagement outcomes for the Rainy River Headwaters and the Cloquet watersheds; create a citizen understanding of the Watershed Restoration & Protection Strategy (WRAPS) process and the role that citizens, lake associations, institutions of higher education, and other stakeholders can play in attaining water quality restoration and protection; provide opportunities for citizens and stakeholders to assist local partners and state agencies in developing priorities for projects to accomplish resto
This program will develop and implement stormwater management plans and shoreline restoration projects with community partners. Community partners for this program will include but are not limited to: non-profits, businesses, and faith organizations within the Rainy River-Baudette watershed.
This project will provide an important framework for civic and citizen engagement and communication in the International Rainy River-Lake of the Woods Watershed, which will contribute to long-term public participation in surface water protection and restoration activities.
The goal of this project is the development of the Rainy River Headwaters, Vermilion River and St. Louis River Watersheds Local Civic Engagement and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy.
The purpose of this contract is to establish an international watershed coordinator for the Rainy River- Lake of the Woods (RR-LOW) watershed. The coordinator will assist the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in facilitating and enhancing civic engagement and public participation activities through collaboration and integration of the efforts of groups working on watershed activities at local, state/provincial, tribal, and bi-national levels.
