These funds are being used to systematically collect data and produce statistically valid estimates of the rate of soil erosion and tracking the adoption of high residue cropping systems in in the 67 counties with greater than 30% land in agricultural row crop production. Designed to establish a long term program in Minnesota to collect data and produce county, watershed, and state wide estimates of soil erosion caused by water and wind along with tracking adoption of conservation measures to address erosion.
These funds are being used to systematically collect data and produce statistically valid estimates of the rate of soil erosion and tracking the adoption of high residue cropping systems in counties with greater than 30% land in agricultural row crop production. Designed to establish a long term program in Minnesota to collect data and produce county, watershed, and state wide estimates of soil erosion caused by water and wind along with tracking adoption of conservation measures to address erosion.
Ramsey County SWCD is applying to continue the implementation of its popular and successful well sealing cost-share program to help protect the groundwater, especially in highly vulnerable drinking water supply management areas, by permanently and professionally sealing between 115 and 140 abandoned wells in the county.
This project will improve the water quality of lakes in Ramsey and Washington Counties. This will be accomplished by: 1) installation of filtration basins adjacent to Wakefield Lake to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution, and 2) construction of raingardens on private property that filter stormwater runoff thereby reducing sediment and nutrient pollution to Battle Creek Lake and Kohlman Creek. This project is funded through the Ramsey County and Washington County allocations of the Watershed-Based Funding Pilot Program for the Seven County Metropolitan Area.
This project will conduct a subwatershed feasibility study to identify and prioritize project locations for retrofit of stormwater best management practices. The project will also include installation of the highest priority stormwater improvement practice to reduce nutrient pollution to Goose Lake. This project is funded through the Anoka County and Ramsey County allocations of the Watershed-Based Funding Pilot Program for the Seven County Metropolitan Area.
This project will improve the water quality of Keller Lake in the City of Apple Valley by expanding an existing upstream pond and modifying the pond's outlet to provide additional water quality treatment. The pond outlet would be modified to provide extended detention and increase the residence time for smaller storm events. One public outreach event will be held during project design to inform residents of the proposed project and obtain feedback.
Provides grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts that focuses on increasing capacity to address four resource concern areas?Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients.
Provides grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts that focuses on increasing capacity to address four resource concern areas?Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients.
Provides grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts that focuses on increasing capacity to address four resource concern areas?Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients.
Provides grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts that focuses on increasing capacity to address four resource concern areas?Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients.
The Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and local volunteers to conduct water quality monitoring in high priority areas of the Upper Mississippi River (Brainerd) Watershed. Four lakes will be sampled, including Sheriff, Rabbit, French, and Section Twelve. Four stream/river sites will be monitored including the Rice River (2 sites), Ripple River, and Sissabagama Creek. Through this effort we will obtain information that will be useful in assessing the health of this watershed.
This project is studying the response of certain aquifers to groundwater pumping. Research involves an aquifer test, which is an experiment where a well is pumped at a known, constant, pumping rate; changes in groundwater levels and stream flows in the areas around the aquifer test site are observed while the well is being pumped. These tests help us understand how groundwater flows between aquifers, which are underground rock and sand layers that hold water.
The goal of this project is to use the We Are Water MN exhibit and their technical knowledge in relationship-building and storytelling to increase community capacity for sustainable watershed management in the Cannon River, Cedar River, Mississippi-Headwaters, Mississippi-Grand Rapids, Mississippi-Twin Cities, Red Lake River, Rum River and St. Louis River watersheds.
The Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) is proposing to improve the water quality of stormwater runoff to Bald Eagle Lake through installation of a new wet pond and iron-enhanced sand filter (IESF) on Ramsey County Ditch #11. In partnership with White Bear Township, this project will remove approximately 43 pounds of phosphorus from runoff annually and builds upon the extensive work undertaken by the RCWD to improve water quality in Bald Eagle Lake.
The goal of this project is to apply the Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) model to evaluate scenarios to support potential management actions and implementation in the watershed, construct Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies, and to develop a conceptual site model of the lakes for understanding phosphorus release.
The project will include lake monitoring on seventeen lakes found in the Mississippi River - Brainerd watershed in East Central Crow Wing County (CWC). The project will be conducted in an effort to gain data on these data-deficient lakes. One of the goals of the CWC Local Comprehensive Water Plan (CWP) is to establish a countywide Comprehensive Monitoring Plan (CMP). Surface water assessment monitoring will enable state 303(d) and 305(b) assessments and provide a better understanding of these lakes.
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 project will provide cost-share funds to landowners in vulnerable groundwater areas for the incorporation of cover crops in their crop rotation and to provide education related to nitrogen BMPs through field trials and Nutrient Management Plans. An anticipated 100 producers in highly vulnerable areas, will plant 3,000 acres of cover crops resulting in preventing potentially 19,800 pounds of nitrate from leaching into groundwater.
The Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) is responsible for the protection and restoration of the water quality of 20 lakes and 5 creeks within its boundary. Permit and voluntary cost share programs serve to slowly redevelop the watershed to the benefit of these water bodies. However, additional projects are needed- not only to implement green infrastructure in areas that need extra restoration and protection, but also to foster new relationships between citizens and the RWMWD to rally together in a common goal to the benefit of their water resources.
The Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Forest Resources Council work with forest landowners, managers and loggers to implement a set of voluntary sustainable forest management guidelines that include water quality best management practices (BMPs) to ensure sustainable habitat, clean water, and productive forest soils, all contributing to healthy watersheds. This project will monitor the implementation of these forest management guidelines and BMPs on forested watersheds in MN.
Minnesota’s use of groundwater has increased over the last two decades. An increasing reliance on groundwater may not be a sustainable path for continued economic growth and development. The DNR is establishing three pilot groundwater management areas (GWMA) to help improve groundwater appropriation decisions and help groundwater users better understand and plan for future groundwater needs associated with economic development.
The goal of this project is to refine the segmentation, extend the simulation period, and recalibrate an existing Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model for the Rum River Watershed.
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.
The project involves installation of a number of stormwater best management practices in the road right-of-way and on adjacent public property during reconstruction of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and installation of the Dakota County North Creek Greenway. Practices implemented will include boulevard raingardens, tree trenches, and underground sediment collection practices.
In 2010, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency listed Keller Lake as impaired for excess nutrients. An in-lake alum application was identified as the primary phosphorus load reduction option for controlling internal phosphorus load in Keller Lake. A recently completed in-lake management feasibility study report indicates that the in-lake alum application is the most cost-effective implementation project that remains for Keller Lake.
The Keller Lake Water Quality Improvement Project achieves the goals of the City of Burnsville, Black Dog Watershed Management Organization, and the Keller Lake TMDL by:-Achieving the City of Burnsville phosphorus removal requirement outlined in the Keller Lake TMDL by removing 78 lbs/yr-Utilizing remaining available land to construct a high performance, regional stormwater BMP-Providing a high profile water resource/stormwater educational opportunity in the frequently visited Crystal Beach Park-Retaining valuable open space in popular Crystal Beach Park by constructing the BMP undergroundK
The purpose of this work is to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs; a federal clean Water Act requirement) for streams and lakes in the Kettle River and Upper St. Croix watersheds. This and other technical information will be used to develop a separate report called a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report.
King Park, a city-owned park in Lakeville, consists of baseball fields, a park building, and a parking lot. A portion of Dodd Blvd, a driveway, and the parking lot drain to a stormwater pond at the north end of the park where water is retained, treated, and reused to irrigate two ball fields. This stormwater reuse project was constructed by the Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization (VRWJPO) and the City of Lakeville in 2010 to meet VRWJPO and city goals.
Previous research by the St. Croix Watershed Research Station (SCWRS) has identified lake physics (temperature and oxygen) and nutrient recycling (nitrogen and phosphorus) as key drivers of lake algal blooms. SCWRS will conduct monitoring consistent with the prior research efforts by re-deploying three moored buoys to collect data throughout the 2019 ice-free season, including surface water samples. Additionally, SCWRS will deploy an in situ flourometer to measure total algae and cyanobacteria concentrations and will collect and analyze cyanobacterial toxins.
