Newsletter mailing to property owners within DWSMA; Information about nitrate testing, hazardous waste, class V wells, SSTS, storage tanks; Provide support for Todd County SWCD Enviro Fest
Reduce nitrogen fertilization and infiltration near well #6; Educate property owners about nitrate infiltration; Install lysimeters to determine level of fertilizer
The goal of the project is to sustain the existing Volunteer Nitrate Monitoring Network (VNMN) domestic well network for long-term groundwater quality studies by generating ambient groundwater quality data in domestic drinking water wells completed in various southeastern Minnesota aquifers, contrasting vulnerable and non-vulnerable hydrogeologic settings.
Little Rock Lake experiences severe algae blooms due to excess phosphorus and these blooms are the worst known regionally. The goal of this project is to reduce algae blooms, improve water clarity, and avoid risk of drinking water contamination. The project will result in installing one farmer nutrient management project , four cover crops, two lakeshore buffer strips, six septic systems that also demonstrated an imminent threat to public health, six erosion control projects , one wetland restored, and one feedlot runoff control system.
The Watonwan Watershed Resource Specialist has been funding with Clean Water funds since 2012. Since that time, the Watonwan Watershed Resource Specialist has been a crucial connector between landowners and natural resource professionals in the Watonwan Watershed. As the technical ability and responsibilities of the WWRS expands, the need and urgency to secure extended funding becomes a priority. This project will fund half of the Watonwan Watershed Research Specialist position through year 2020.
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.
Nitrogen is a serious problem in Minnesota's Mississippi River Basin and the Dodge Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will address this problem through saturated buffers. Nitrates have been linked to adverse health effects, and nitrogen is the leading cause of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Agriculture drainage through the use of tile drainage systems have been identified as the number one leading source of nitrogen in the Mississippi River Basin.
This proposal will further Cass County's goal of having inspection records for all SSTS systems throughout the county. This project will focus on septic systems in East and West Sylvan Townships. These urbanized townships are located within 2-8 miles of the cities of Brainerd-Baxter and are adjacent to the Crow Wing River near its confluence with the Mississippi River.
The purpose of this project is to identify effective irrigation and nutrient management best management practices and technologies and the barriers that prevent irrigators, producers, and other agricultural partners from adopting them in Otter Tail County. The primary goal is to reduce nitrate in areas where groundwater is susceptible to contamination as mapped by The Minnesota Department of Health by identifying effective BMPs and addressing the barriers to their adoption.
This project seeks to inventory twenty registered feedlots identified as having an Unpermitted Liquid Manure Storage Area. Specifically, this inventory would include offering cost-share for soils investigations. These feedlots are located in three townships that have also been identified as having groundwater that is vulnerable to nutrient pollution, necessitating a need for nitrate testing per MN Department of Agriculture. These townships also house the vast majority of remaining unpermitted Liquid Manure Storage Areas in the County.
Most of Hubbard, Todd and Wadena Counties' irrigated acreage consists of highly permeable, low water holding capacity, sandy textured soils overlying shallow and buried sand and gravel aquifers. These aquifers are very susceptible to non-point water quality degradation from land use practices.
The Elk River Watershed Association (ERWSA) was formed to enable Sherburne and Benton Counties to work together to implement Local Water Management Plans. Since its formation in 1994, the ERWSA has primarily focused on working with land owners to reduce non-point sources of pollution within the watershed. Sherburne and Benton SWCD staff have extensive experience installing conservation practices. The ERWSA draws support from Sherburne County, Benton County, and local lake associations.
St. Louis County's Comprehensive Water Management Plan Update 2010-2020 identifies providing financial assistance to qualifying homeowners to upgrade or replace failing septic systems as a Priority 2 action. Funds from the FY-16 Clean Water Fund Projects and Practices Grant will be used to provide funding to low-income homeowners to repair or replace SSTS identified as Imminent Threat to Public Health (ITPH) within the following watersheds: Lake Superior South, St.
The grant allowed the Cokato Historical Society to hire a vendor to scan 817 8x10 glass plate negatives from the Gust Akerlund Photographic Studio's negative collection, housed at the Cokato Museum. The total size of the Akerlund Negative Collection is 14,017 images. Of that amount, 11,552 are of the rare and fragile glass plate negative variety.
Many of the aquifers that are located under Otter Tail County are susceptible to contamination from nitrates and other water soluble contaminants due to the coarse grained soils of the area. These aquifers are used by municipalities and rural residents. One of the common agricultural practices in the area that can have an effect on these aquifers is agricultural irrigation. Over application of irrigation can directly lead to leaching of nutrients that can contaminate our groundwater resources.
Green Lake is a popular and regionally significant lake. Monitoring data collected on Green Lake indicates that the lake's water quality is declining. Over recent decades, development in the City of Spicer and around Green Lake has increased dramatically, resulting in much higher percentages of impervious surfaces such as parking lots, driveways and roads. The resulting increase in runoff velocities and volumes require the incorporation of stormwater infrastructure to accommodate water that previously infiltrated soils.
A new GIS technician will help prioritize and target conservation activities and protection strategies in nine north-central Minnesota counties. The GIS technician will create GIS products, assessments, and watershed analysis to identify the high priority areas in each County or watershed in need of protection or restoration using all available data, including LiDAR, soils, land use, completed WRAPS and other datasets. These areas will then be targeted for future resource management efforts, Clean Water Fund projects, and additional conservation activities.
Lake Seven is located in Otter Tail County and is a waterbody of statewide significance, often leading the north central hardwoods forest ecoregion in water clarity. Lake Seven has also been identified by DNR Fisheries staff as one of 77 refuge lakes with the potential to maintain tulibee populations into the future given sufficent watershed protection and the only one in Otter Tail County.
