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.
Lake George is the premier recreational lake in Anoka County with above average water quality, a vibrant fishery, and a large regional park and beach that is among the most utilized in the county. Located in northwestern Anoka County within the Upper Rum River Watershed Management Organization (URRWMO), the Lake George Improvement District (LGID) was formed to tend to the lake's diminishing water quality and problematic invasive species.
Past and current monitoring data has shown Ramsey County's Lambert Creek has high levels of total phosphorus (TP), anywhere from 0.14 mg/L to 0.30 mg/L, which is above the proposed State standard of 0.10 mg/L for streams in the Central Region.
The Clean Water Fund (CWF) and Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF) were used together to secure easements on buffer areas. 71 easements have been recorded for a total of 1,083.9 acres and are reported in the output tables for the final report (acre total does not include Clean Water Fund acres). The total acreage from both CWF and OHF sources for recorded easements is 2,105.0 acres. Only the OHF acres are being reported in this final report to be consistent with the approved accomplishment plan.
The purpose of this program is to provide cost share funding to community groups for the installation of community accessible rain gardens and other water quality projects in Ramsey County. The Ramsey Conservation District (RCD) in partnership with local property owners and Watershed Districts/Water Management Organizations will install 6-12 stormwater best management projects that will help protect and improve water quality of surrounding lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands.
Capitol Region Watershed District is partnering with St. Paul Public Schools to implement a variety of highly visible Best Management Practices at Central High School that will improve the quality of stormwater discharged to the Mississippi River. A tremendous amount of sediment is discharged from the school annually due to the large impervious areas and lack of vegetation. Implementing the projects will reduce sediment by 86% and phosphorus by 90% over the target area annually.
This project will reduce phosphorus loading from the watershed tributary to Silver Lake. The project includes a combination of structural water quality improvements in the SLV-10 subwatershed north of the lake, retrofits (including iron enhanced sand filtration) to the Silver Lake bioretention basin, small scale best management practices (BMPs) throughout the watershed, and educational signage in Joy Park. The elements of this project will reduce phosphorus loading to Silver Lake by a combined 15 pounds per year or 40% of the current watershed load.
Wakefield Lake is in the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) and is impaired for excess phosphorus. Through the Wakefield Lake TMDL process, implementation activities have been identified which include partnerships with the City of Maplewood to install BMPs in the watershed to directly benefit Wakefield Lake. RWMWD has researched, monitored and field tested the use of spent lime for stormwater quality treatment.
Capitol Region Watershed District will partner with local organizations and private landowners to implement a variety of cost-effective Best Management Practices in the East Kittsondale subwatershed. The urbanized condition of the 1,860 acre subwatershed results in an estimated 1,500 pounds of phosphorus, over 470,000 pounds of sediment, and significant concentrations of bacteria associated with that sediment being sent untreated to the Mississippi River each year. Those pollutants have contributed to several impairments within the river.
This project will continue collaboration with faith organizations in priority areas to implement stormwater volume reduction retrofit projects. 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 or at risk water.
At almost 4,000 acres, Trout Brook is the largest subwatershed in the Capitol Region Watershed District and the City of Saint Paul. The restored stream is part of the 42 acre Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary project, whose goal is to return the area back to some resemblance of its pre-industrialized valley of stream floodplain and wetlands. Monitoring results within the corridor show that phosphorus, sediments, bacteria, lead and copper are the pollutants of most concern.
