A direct appropriation of $400,000 in FY 2010 for the Anoka Conservation District (ACD) is for the metropolitan landscape restoration program for water quality and improvement projects in the seven-county metro area (the law also provides $600,000 for this purpose in FY2011).
Lake Elmo Park Reserve. Construct trailhead building at winter recreation area, construct new well, septic, site lighting, trails, parking, and related infrastructure, landscaping and amenities.
Nearly 700 miles of open water flow through Faribault County's borders. Over one-third of these miles are artificial drainage systems. Artificial drainage systems are necessary to remove excess precipitation and improve the productivity of agricultural land, however they also have a direct effect on the water quality and quantity of receiving waterbodies. With limited resources available to manage these systems, innovative and efficient management tools will play a critical role in targeting improvements for water quality.
The goal of this project is to offer grant funding to boat marinas located in Washington County on the St. Croix River to complete water quality improvement projects. St. Croix marinas own large amounts of shoreline plus there are roads, parking areas, buildings, and garages. These all produce runoff that drains directly into the St. Croix River. Marinas also often include pollution hotspots due to the presence of boat fueling areas.
The Crow River is a major river system in Wright County that is of local and regional significance. It is a major recreation area in its own right but also flows into the Mississippi River 20 miles from the Minneapolis Drinking Water Plant intake. Elevated sediment levels in the river increases the cost of treating the river water and threatens fisheries habitat.
Mississippi West Regional Park.?Design and construct new boat launch, improve existing roadway, fishing pier/ observation deck, utilities, landscape restoration, signs and site furnishings, plus associated permit fees and contingencies.MC Action on 06/27/2012 reduced the grant amount from $400,000 to $382,000.
Rice Creek North Regional Trail. Design and construct approximately 4,200 lineal feet of the Rice Creek North Regional Trail from Hodgson Road to Baldwin City Park.
Lake Elmo Park Reserve. Build Winter Recreation Area including plan winter recreation area, develop recreation facilities to accommodate evening use; install lighting for ski trails and site; develop roads and parking lot; remodel barn for use as a trailhead. A?
The Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed includes numerous private ditches and partially drained wetlands which are a priority for mapping, assessment and restoration. The project will include the mapping and assessment of all drained and partially drained wetlands in the watershed. In addition, a web-based GIS system will be developed to inventory, assess, target and track the effectiveness of various conservation practices towards the attainment of water quality goals.
The East Branch Blue Earth River is currently negatively impacted and has been shown to contribute disproportionately high sediment loads to the Minnesota River. With limited funds available for implementing conservation practices, targeting tools to pinpoint locations where conservation practices have the highest effectiveness are increasingly important. Innovative use of technology can help streamline these targeting procedures.
Currently, there are approximately 5,050 feedlots with fewer than 300 animal units that need to come into compliance with State feedlot rules. Clean Water Feedlot Water Quality Management Grant funds are being used to provide financial assistance to landowners with feedlot operations less than 300 animal units in size and located in a riparian area or impaired watershed.
Comfort Lake is one of Chisago county's largest recreational lakes. Comfort Lake is of regional significance with public access for boating, fishing and swimming. A pollution reduction study was conducted for the lake because of decreasing water quality. This study identified highly urban areas as one of the sources of nutrients.
In partnership with the Washington Conservation District and City of Woodbury, this project will improve water quality in Colby Lake through implementing 30 priority small-scale water quality conservation practices. Projects may include bioretention, vegetated swales and pond modifications. Priority projects were identified as part of the Colby Lake Watershed Retrofit Assessment and represent the most cost-effective means to reduce excess phosphorus loads that have impacted Colby Lake.
In collaboration with the University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, City of Stillwater and MN DNR Waters and Fisheries an iron-enhanced sand filter will be designed. This filter will remove approximately 118 pounds of total phosphorous per year from an area of Stillwater that ultimately drains to the St. Croix River, a national Wild and Scenic River that has a decling water quality trend.
Lily Lake, near Stillwater, is a popular recreational spot for residents with its swimming beach, fishing pier, and canoe access. Lily Lake's water quality is declining because of excess nutrients. Restoring it is a priority for the community of Stillwater.
Lily Lake,near Stillwater, is a popular recreational spot for residents with its swimming beach, fishing pier, and canoe access. Lily Lake's water quality is declining because of excess nutrients. Restoring it is a priority for the community of Stillwater.
This project is a continaution project of the Phase I project that started in the spring of 2011 and complements the Phase II project recently funded in 2012. Specifically, this project will implement two large stormwater retrofits in large parking lots of DiaSoren Manufacturing and the Valley Ridge Mall.
Up to $205,000 to match $1,729,000 of a Federal Transportation Enhancement grant, Transportation Enhancement ARRA funds and Carver County Regional Rail Authority funds for land acquisition, trail design, trail and trailhead construction of 6.9 mile segment of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail. Any remaining funds used to partially finance the match to a $1 million Federal Transportation Enhancement grant to design and construct a trail in Lake Minnewashta Regional Park and a trail underpass of Trunk Highway 41 that links to a City of Chanhassen trail.
Due to its high water quality, protecting Martha Lake is a prioirty for Wright County. A monitoring study of the tile system outlet that flows into Lake Martha revealed high amounts of dissolved phosphorus were entering the lake through the tile system. This validated the concerns of the Lake Martha Lake Association.
MuKusick Lake's water quality is declining because of excess nutrients and restoring it is a priority for the Stillwater community.
This project will work to implement priority stormwater treatment projects that were identified in the 2010 McKusick Lake Stormwater Retrofit Assessment. This project will be the first phase of stormwater treatment implementation projects within the McKusick Lake watershed and will provide approximately 10% of the needed phosphorus reduction.
Through a long standing partnership, this project will continue to implement a process formalized with a 2010 Clean Water Fund Grant to conduct stormwater sub-watershed assessments. The goal of the sub-watershed assessments is to accelerate water quality improvements by focusing efforts in high priority areas. Specifically, subwatershed assessments are a tool used to identify the most effective urban stormwater conservation practice by location.
The Twin Cities area is host to a nationally renowned system of regional parks that provides numerous outdoor recreational opportunities for the public while preserving green space for wildlife habitat. The Metropolitan Council is using this appropriation to partially finance the acquisition of approximately 195 acres to be added to existing metropolitan regional parks, with priority given to lands with shoreland, lands that provide important natural resource connections, and lands containing unique natural resources.
The Mustinka River winds through five counties in west central Minnesota and empties into Lake Traverse, a border waters lake with excellent fishing and recreational opportunities. For several years, sections of the river have been negatively impacted from too much soil/sediment eroding from the land and washing away into the water. Excess sediment degrades aquatic habitat and feeds algae blooms.
This project continues a 2011 Clean Water Fund collaborative effort to develop a plan to reduce the amount of sediment washed into the river.
Oak Glen Creek is immediately upstream of drinking water intakes for Minneapolis and St. Paul. When it rains, the runoff along Oak Glen Creek runs down bare soil cliffs that are 20 to 30 feet high, causing large amounts of sediment to erode into the creek and make its way to the Mississippi River. This corridor stabilization project will address multiple local and regional priorities and will benefit both cities source water projection efforts.
The Pomme de Terre River watershed is located in west central Minnesota and occupies a portion of six counties. For many years surface water quality within the watershed has been a concern to local government. In 1982 the Pomme de Terre River Association Joint Powers Board was formed to begin addressing this issue. In 2002 the Pomme de Terre River was placed on the Impaired Waters list for turbidity. This project is a continuation of a 2011 Clean Water Fund project.
The 400-mile stretch of the Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca to Morrison County near Little Falls is the focus of this project. Working in cooperation with the eight member counties, this project will develop implementation plans and strategies geared specifically for the Mississippi River and incorporate them into the individual County Comprehensive Local Water Plans. These recommendations will be for specific strategies, often crossing county boundaries for implementation.
This project will provide land and water managers in the Red River Basin with data and online tools to prioritize actions on the landscape that achieve water quality objectives identified in local and state plans. This will help identify strategically important locations for implementing erosion control and water management practices. Standardized watershed-based data products will be integrated into a web-based planning tool which will be added to the Red River Basin Decision Information Network (RRBDIN) being developed as part of the Red River Watershed Feasibility Study.
