The Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association, Lake Associations, as well as other eligible community partners to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff and keep water on the land. A mini-grant program to install rain gardens and native vegetation buffers along shorelines of lakes with a completed "Lake Assessment" supported by previous BWSR funding or a TMDL Implementation Plan will be implemented.
Pine Soil and Water Conservation District is partnering with the City of Sturgeon Lake to seal over 50% of the unused wells in the city limits. The City of Sturgeon Lake recently installed a municipal water supply system, and completed a Minnesota Department of Health approved Wellhead Protection Plan. Residents have connected to the new public water supply system and need to seal their unused wells.
These projects will improve water quality by reducing the sediment and phosphorus delivery to the Kettle and St. Croix River Watersheds and engage and educate municipalities and the public regarding the water quality benefits of shoreline buffers and rain gardens. Phosphorus and sediment delivery to the Kettle River from stormwater runoff at Robinson Park in the City of Sandstone will be reduced by the establishment of a native buffer and repair of the river bank by installing soil wraps implanted with deep rooted native species.
The Fairview Avenue storm sewer system is under capacity and stormwater runoff reaches the pipe faster than the pipes can convey the water downstream. This causes the system to surcharge, causing arterial street flooding, local street flooding, inundation of open spaces, as well as private property damage. This storm sewer system is directly connected to several significant regional water bodies.
Lambert Creek is wholly within the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization (VLAWMO) and is located in northeastern Ramsey County. Lambert Creek is surrounded by mainly residential land use and flows through three communities before discharging into East Vadnais Lake, which is the final impoundment reservoir containing the water supply that the Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) treats and then distributes to thirteen municipalities including the city of St. Paul.
RIM Buffers Phase II combined the resource benefits of the Outdoor Heritage Fund (LSOHC), Clean Water Fund (CWF), and bond funds. This program enrolled a total of 1,336.7 acres of enhanced wildlife and water quality buffers in partnership with private landowners on 29 easements. With 1337 acres (all sources of funding) protected and restored in this phase, we exceeded the original goal of 400 acres of OHF funded buffers and 400 acres of CWF funded buffers. Bonding dollars were used to fund the remaining 537 acres.
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.
Ramsey County has over 3,500 acres tied to faith based organizations and schools. On average, these properties contribute one billion gallons of stormwater runoff, 3,000 pounds of phosphorus, and 1,000 tons of sediment to local water bodies. The Ramsey Conservation District (RCD) in partnership with local property owners and watershed districts/water management organizations will install 6-12 stormwater projects that will help protect and improve water quality of surrounding lakes.
The Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds have been assessed and many reaches have been impaired for turbidity, bacteria, and low dissolved oxygen. This project will accelerate conservation efforts to reduce overland runoff sediment, bacteria, and nutrient loadings contributing to water quality impairments in targeted subwatersheds.
The Redwood River and Cottonwood River watersheds encompass approximately 2,020 square miles of southwestern Minnesota in the Minnesota River Basin. Land use in these watersheds is mostly agricultural and area geology makes them prone to erosion. Surface water issues within the two watersheds are a concern of local leaders. The counties and Soil and Water Conservation District leaders formed the Redwood Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA) Joint Powers Board in 1983 to address sedimentation, water quality and quantity, and erosion issues.
State law (M.L. 2011, First Special Session, Ch. 6) directs restoration evaluations to be conducted on habitat restoration projects completed with funds from the Clean Water Fund (M.S. 114.D.50 Subd. 6). The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is responsible for convening a Restoration Evaluation Panel containing at least five technical experts who will evaluate a sample of up to 10 habitat restoration projects annually. The Panel will evaluate the restorations relative to the law, current science, stated goals and standards in the restoration plans, and applicable guidelines.
This area of the Minnesota River Basin has been identified as contributing significant amounts of sediment to the watershed. The primary cause of the sediment is from gullies and ravines. This project by the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA) continues efforts begun with FY2011 Clean Water Funds. Using data collected through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and LiDAR, GERBA will install best management practices to address severe ravines and gullies in targeted specific locations.
Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) is a largely developed area of the Twin Cities with an average impervious surface area of 34%. Faith organizations often have large impervious surface areas with little to no stormwater treatment on site. The goal of this project is to collaborate with faith organizations in high priority areas to implement stormwater volume reduction retrofit projects. High priority areas are defined as areas with limited to no stormwater treatment before reaching a water body and/or areas that drain to an impaired water.
Eight RIM Wetlands applications were selected for funding on 1146.2 acres from this appropriation. In addition 19 RIM-WRP easements, totaling 2,239 acres were funded. Thus a total of 3,385 acres were protected and restored to wetland and grassland habitat. All easements have been recorded. Leverage from other sources of funds was a little over $4.5M.
This project makes an additional plant growth chamber available to increase efficiency for the MPCA Wild Rice Standards Study, which is gathering information about the effects of sulfate on the growth of wild rice.
