The overall goal of this project is to perform water quality monitoring and load calculation duties to accomplish Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) monitoring efforts at the seven sites within the Redwood and Cottonwood River watersheds as well as the Minnesota River site near Morton. To accomplish this goal the requested funds will provide for technician’s time, mileage, lab costs, supplies, as well as equipment calibration and upkeep.
The State of Minnesota has adopted a ten year cycle for managing water quality for each of the 80 major watersheds in the state. Every ten years, each major watershed will undergo a surface water assessment and a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) project. The North Fork Crow River WRAPS process is entering its second round which will focus both on addressing data gaps identified in the approved NFCRW Comprehensive Watershed Plan and on addressing additional required Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
This project will collect water samples at seventeen monitoring locations ranging in size from 23,173 acres (7 Mile Creek) to over 9 million acres (Minnesota River at St. Peter) as a part of the Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN). The Minnesota State University - Water Resources Center (WRC) has been directly involved with the program and is familiar with the streams and hydrology of the region. In addition to monitoring, the WRC will review, manage and submit the data in formats provided by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
