This program will develop a centralized, integrated approach to managing existing data systems and incorporating new information needs into the integrated enterprise information system of data.
Space and water heating and cooling consume 48% of all energy used in an average U.S. residence, and usually that energy is supplied by natural gas or fossil-fuel derived electricity. Geothermal heat pumps can reduce energy requirements for heating and cooling by up to 75%. However, traditional geothermal heat pumps are expensive and their performance is difficult to predict before installation.
To hire qualified technicians to install a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in the Ames-Florida House, now part of the Rockford Area Historical Society's museum facilities, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
The Minnesota River Basin Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) models, which simulate flow and pollutant transport, need to be refined to be consistent with the most recent external sources of land use, hydrologic response, and surface flow attributions. The primary goal of this work is to refine the hydrologic calibration in the Minnesota River basin.
This project will fix problems at the statewide/system level so that all Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) reports and other projects will benefit by saving money and time as they will no longer have to do data reconciliation work.
This on-going program is for detecting, mapping and controlling invasive plant species and re-establishing native vegetation in their place on lands administered by the Division of Parks and Trails. Control of invasive plant species furthers progress to preserve and restore the quality of native plant communities on Parks and Trails lands as well as helps prevent the spread of invasives to new locations.
Funding supports an Irrigation Specialist to develop guidance and provide education on irrigation and nitrogenbest management practices (BMPs). In this position, Dr. Vasu Sharma provides direct support to irrigators onissues of irrigation scheduling and soil water monitoring. She is collaborating on the development of new irrigationscheduling tools that help irrigators manage water and nitrogen resources more precisely. These tools help reducenitrogen leaching losses in irrigated cropping systems.
Woody biomass energy systems have shown themselves to offer more locally-based, stable energy supplies for some communities. Itasca Community College is using this appropriation to design a renewable energy system based on woody biomass that will serve as a demonstration and educational tool in the region.
"This proposal is to monitor all MPCA target streams and lake sites in the Upper Mississippi Grand Rapids watershed located within Itasca County. Itasca County SWCD has been working collaboratively with MPCA in its intensive watershed monitoring effort on a number of grants to assess the overall health of our water resources and to identify waters with impairments along with those in need of additional protection to prevent future impairments.
This project acquired 40 acres of land within the Jay Cooke State Park boundary on its western side. The land may serve as western access to hiking trails in the future.
The goal of this project is monitoring, assessment and data collection in six un-assessed streams and three lakes in the Snake River watershed, in addition to the implementation of sixteen approved Best Management Practices (BMP's), ten forest stewardship plan developments, community outreach, education and civic engagement activities.
The Kelle's Creek septic system assessment project will examine septic systems throughout the Kelle's Creek watershed to identify those systems that are non-functioning, non-compliant, or an imminent threat to public health and safety. Preliminary prioritization of the septic systems within the watershed will be based on the Washington County GIS database, followed by outreach to landowners to identify willing participants. Ultimately, this project will include inspection of up to 150 septic systems within the Kelle's Creek hydrologic boundary.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
The goal of PH II-Knife River Habitat Rehabilitation project was to improve instream habitat, stabilize slumping streambanks and restore the immediate riparian zone.
Instream habitat and streambank stabilization was achieved by rehabilitating a 2200-foot stretch of stream utilizing Natural Channel Design methodology. This project reduced turbidity by stabilizing four slumping streambanks and creating instream habitat in two areas for adult trout spawning and two areas for 1+ juvenile rearing. Riparian plantings also occurred in this area.
Lac qui Parle-Yellow Bank Watershed District will collect water chemistry samples from the three lakes and twenty-nine stream sites in the Lac qui Parle and Minnesota Headwaters watersheds following the MPCA’s Intensive Watershed Monitoring (IWM) plan for lakes and streams. Eleven samples will be collected at each lake from May through September during 2015 and 2016. Eleven samples will be collected at each of the twenty-nine stream sites in 2015. In addition, sixteen samples at each stream site will be collected in 2015 and 2016 following the E.
The Lake Superior Beach Monitoring and Notification Program exists to test recreational beach water and notify the public if bacteria levels become unsafe. This project will expand the Beach Program to include additional outreach efforts, sanitary surveys and testing of new technologies to improve the Beach Program. Monitoring results will be used to inform the public, find the sources of bacterial contamination and address polluted runoff from improper waste disposal.
Improved levels of civic engagement and community participation in support for the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) processes in the St. Louis River, Lake Superior South, and Cloquet River Watersheds. Monitoring plans and compiled field data will be provided and summarized that will aid in the future completion of Total Maximum Daily Load Reports (TMDLs) in these watersheds and in the Lake Superior North Watershed.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
To hire qualified consultants to evaluate submerged cultural resources in Lake Minnetonka for possible inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
Faribault County Soil and Water Conservation District will develop two watershed plans using charettes, an intensive planning process used to engage citizens, conservation agencies, and others to collaborate on a vision for the development of a drainage watershed scale plan. The process allows landowners, producers, businesses, townships, cities and the county to partake in a comprehensive plan directly relating back to concerns and solutions related to surface water and nonpoint source pollution.
When completed, this Lake County-wide culvert inventory project will have multiple direct benefits to water quality protection, natural resource planning, and municipal asset protection. This inventory will be used to provide local and state authorities accurate information on the condition of road crossings, better calibrate hydrological modeling tools crucial to the inter-agency Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) process, and assess how road crossings in Lake County are affecting the water and sediment transport capacity of our waterways.
The goal of the Lake Volney Targeted Restoration project is to improve the water quality draining to Lake Volney, which is impaired for excess nutrients. The project contains eight priority areas and will install a variety of Best Management Practices, including stormwater basins, ag retention, wetland enhancement, and more.
The sixth largest fresh water lake in the United States, Lake of the Woods has sustained significant shoreline erosion through a number of high water events, high inflows from the Rainy River, sustained strong NW winds, and erodible soils on the southern shore. This project implements strategies to protect and enhance private shoreline on the lake by addressing long-term shoreline management.
This is a joint grant application from the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District (RPBCWD) and the City of Chanhassen. In 2010, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency listed Lake Susan as a shallow lake impaired for excess nutrients. A 2013 report recommended a project located at the park pond immediately northwest of Lake Susan as the most cost-effective watershed implementation project. The project calls for an outlet control structure at a higher elevation that will provide increased dead pool storage and the installation of a Minnesota Filter to treat dissolved phosphorus.
This project will address the nutrient impairment of Lake St. Croix through the installation of targeted stormwater treatment best management practices as prioritized in the 2014 Lake St. Croix Direct Discharge Stormwater Retrofit Assessment. The project will install up to 16 Low Impact Development practices to reduce pollutant loading to Lake St. Croix by at least 8.0 pounds phosphorous and 3,000 pounds sediment and 1.0 acre foot of stormwater per year.
The Lake of the Woods (LOW) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study will: (1) identify water quality goals for the Minnesota portions of the LOW/Rainy River Watershed; (2) recommend nutrient allocations to achieve TMDLs where waters do not meet standards; and (3) provide opportunities for stakeholders to engage in the process of watershed-management planning to adopt protection and restoration strategies. The project will include existing in-lake and watershed model updates, TMDL component development, restoration plan development, and public participation.
