Duluth area streams received over 10 inches of rainfall on June 19 and June 20, 2012. This "500 year event" provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to further understand sediment movement and stream channel alterations due to an event of this magnitude.
This project is for the Duluth Streams Urban Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS). The project is a core part of the WRAPS and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development for the Duluth Metropolitan Area (DMA).
This project is the continuation of efforts to restore and protect watersheds and streams in Minnesota’s Lake Superior coastal region. The project provides the means to evaluate water quality impairments, complete pollutant source assessments, establish loading capacities and allocations for impairments, and to evaluate and recommend protection strategies for high quality water resources. It also leverages and encourages adoption of locally driven solutions to watershed management and protection.
The goal of this project is to complete the calibration/validation process of Hydrologic Simulation FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models for the Lake of the Woods/Rainy River Basin.
The Koochiching County SWCD staff will collect water chemistry and field parameters at specific times to determine amount of contaminant load into each stream. These sites will coincide with locations where stream flow data is also being collected. This project will focus on watershed load monitoring in both the Big Fork and Little Fork River watersheds.
This project, beginning in Spring of 2014 and lasting until December 2015, will collect water quality data for 16 sites (7 lakes and 4 stream sites) within the Rainy River - Headwaters Major Watershed as part of the 10-year cycle for monitoring Minnesota's waters. Due to the large number and geographic extent of monitoring sites Lake County Soil and Water Conservaion District (SWCD) has coordinated site selection with North St. Louis County Soil and Water Conservaion District (SWCD) and will monitor sites within the southwestern (Kawishiwi River) portion of the watershed.
The purpose of this project is to gain an understanding of modern and historical nutrient and thermal dynamics in Lake of the Woods using modeling, monitoring, sediment core analysis, and whole basin techniques.
The Rainy River - Rainy Lake, Rainy River - Baudette and Rapid River Watershed Assessments will include the waters of the Baudette River, Black River, Peppermint Creek, Rapid River, Rat Root River and Winter Road River in Koochiching and Lake of the Woods Counties. This assessment focuses on collection of water chemistry and field parameters at the 12 key sites identified and modified by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Five of the sites will have extra total phosphorus and chlorophyll analysis completed as identified by the MPCA for collecting river nutrients.
This project will complete the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) for the Lake Superior North watershed. Two segments of the Flute Reed River are impaired for aquatic life due to elevated turbidity and total suspended solids. The lower Poplar River is also listed as impaired but significant progress has occurred in the last 10 years. A TMDL and implementation plan have been completed for the lower Poplar River impairment. All other waters meet water quality standards and will be considered for protection measures.
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.
This project provides fiscal resources for Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District for civic engagement activities in the Lake Superior South, North, and Cloquet watersheds for Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS). This project also includes provide funding for water chemistry monitoring assistance and diagnostic field work that will fill identified monitoring gaps and stressors within the Lake Superior South watershed.
The goal of this project is to determine: 1) temperature and seasonal variations in sediment chemical-textural characteristics (upper 10-cm sediment layer) and rates of P release from sediments; and 2) vertical variations in mobile P concentrations in the sediment column of Big Traverse Bay in order to better understand the role of internal P loading to the P economy of LOW and for the development of the LOW TMDL.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is a co-sponsor and assists with a portion of the financial support for the International Rainy River-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum.
This project will develop, implement, and evaluate civic engagement activities within the Rainy River Headwaters and Cloquet watersheds. In addition, Lake County will also assist in expanding water quality monitoring efforts in support of the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) process.
The purpose of this project is to provide technical support to data generators and users of the Saint Louis River Area of Concern (SLRAOC) to support the Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) removal process.
The St. Louis River watershed is one of the largest watersheds in northern Minnesota and the largest single contributing watershed to Lake Superior. Surface waters are abundant with 353 lakes and 97 streams segments. Large areas of forest and wetlands help to sustain areas of exceptional water quality. However, land use changes have degraded many lakes, rivers, and streams. 21 stream reaches have aquatic life impairments, as identified by high turbidity (1 reach), poor quality aquatic macro-invertebrate community (16 reaches), and/or poor quality fish community (12 reaches).
This project is completing Feasibility Study Addendums and updating other project documents for Thomson and Scanlon Reservoirs, and Mud Lake W sites in the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC).
This Partnership Agreement is a 5-year effort that will provide the technical, planning and engineering assistance for implementation of the 2013 St. Louis River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan. Through this agreement the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and MPCA will develop detailed work plans and construction design plans for numerous sites in the project AOC and assist with critical AOC-wide issues. • 21st Avenue West Restoration Site. Outcome will be preliminary to final engineering designs and costs ready for bid package development. • Knowlton Creek Site.
This project will address Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA), and public comments on draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) reports, preliminary draft TMDL studies, and public noticed TMDL studies and WRAPS reports for the Lower Red River Watershed and the Lake of the Woods Watershed and produce final versions of the TMDL studies and WRAPS reports for each watershed.
This project supports monitoring and assessment activities by MPCA EAO staff and includes lab analysis, equipment, fieldwork, data management, and interpretation expenses associated with monitoring and assessment activities.The ambient groundwater monitoring network describes the current condition and trends in Minnesota's groundwater quality.
The goal of this project is to analyze and document database architecture, platform, table structures, systems and data fields at six Minnesota agencies (Board of Soil and Water Resources, Department of Natural Resources, MN Department of Agriculture, MN Department of Health, Metropolitan Council, and MN Pollution Control Agency) for 30+ databases related to water.
Minnesota Clean Water Funds will be used to complete a paleolimological study of the St. Louis River Estuary for the purpose of providing information critical to removing Beneficial Use Impairments in the St. Louis River Area of Concern. This project will reconstruct the biological (algal load and composition), geochemical (organic and inorganic), sediment, and mercury chronology to identify historical temporal and spatial variations in the St. Louis River Estuary in order to better understand the natural and anthropogenic drivers related to beneficial use impairments for the St.
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 Rapid River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) project will result in the development of the restoration and protection strategies for the watershed and engage the local stakeholders in the practices of watershed management. This project will also develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired waters.
The goal of this project is to provide drilling services for the Sentinel Lakes Groundwater/Surface Water Interaction Network. The three new wells will be used for monitoring the interaction between groundwater and surface water in Lakes Shaokatan and Bear Head. Groundwater/lake water interactions are not well understood, and in order to produce accurate and useful Total Maximum Daily Load watershed investigations and impairment remediations, the MPCA must understand how groundwater affects lake water quality.
This project will augment data collection efforts for the Lake Superior South, Cloquet, St. Louis River, and Duluth Urban Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) projects. Activities include: attaining datasets for watershed stressors and geomorphic conditions, water quality gap monitoring, and civic engagement. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been collaborating with the South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to complete WRAPS related technical and civic engagement work in the Lake Superior basin for the past five years.
This project will generate water quality data for 10 stream locations MPCA designated for their 2012 and 2013 open-water sampling seasons (8 by NRRI-UMD and 2 via subcontract to the North St. Louis SWCD). The overall project goal is to collect event-based physical and chemical data sets for 10 agency-prioritized stream sampling sites in NE Minnesota for calculating pollutant loads and for incorporation into the overall State database for MPCA assessment purposes.
The Natural Resource Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth proposes to collect lake data in northeastern Minnesota. The sites selected are those the county water planners will not be monitoring. The project goal is to assist the MPCA with meeting the objectives of the SWAG to conduct water chemistry monitoring at three MPCA specified lake sampling locations.
The primary goal of this project is to examine the calibration and validation of recently extended Hydrological Simulation Program – FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models for the Mississippi River-Headwaters, Mississippi River-Grand Rapids, Mississippi River-Brainerd, Mississippi River-Sartell, Mississippi River-St. Cloud, Leech Lake, Pine River, Crow Wing River, Long Prairie River, and Redeye River watersheds and revise the calibration.
Five locations will be monitored in support of the combined Vermilion Community College and Rainy River Community College 2014 – 2015 MPCA Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) Sampling Grant. Water samples, field measurements, field images / pictures, and other measurements and observations will be obtained at each location during each sampling event.
Eight locations will be monitored in support of the Vermilion Community College (VCC) Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG). Water samples, field measurements, field images / pictures, and other measurements and observations will be obtained at each location during each sampling event.
Vermilion Community College will assist the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) with meeting the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) development objectives of collecting data and completing watershed assessments for the Rainy River Headwaters, Vermilion River, and Little Fork River watersheds. Services will include providing support for field water monitoring, other field sampling and measurements and related field data management, analysis, and assessments in these watersheds.
