The goal of the project is the development of an overall strategy for reduction of turbidity/TSS, with sets of sediment reduction initiatives and actions for various sources, to address the Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL and the South Metro Mississippi River TSS TMDL.
This project will monitor six sites within the Minnesota River Basin: Hawk Creek near Maynard, Hawk Creek near Granite Falls, Beaver Creek near Beaver Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Granite Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Hanley Falls, and Spring Creek near Hanley Falls. The sites will be monitored according to MPCA’s Major Watershed Load Monitoring (WPLMN) Standard Operating Procedure, which is the procedure being followed for sites currently monitored by the Hawk Creek Watershed Project (HCWP).
This project will work with the MPCA to conduct watershed pollutant load monitoring at four sites in the Chippewa River watershed and one site in the neighboring Pomme de Terre River watershed . The Chippewa River Watershed Project (CRWP) team will also aid the MPCA in measuring and comparing regional differences and long-term trends in water quality. The goal is to collect quality data and complete load calculations for the five sites using the MPCA's established protocols.
This project will provide condition monitoring and problem investigation monitoring at the following sites.
Mississippi River: Tributaries include Bassett Creek, Cannon River, Crow River, and Minnehaha Creek.
Minnesota River: Tributaries include Eagle Creek,Riley Creek, and Valley Creek tributary to the St. Croix River
Funds are to be used to protect, enhance and restore water quality in lakes, rivers and streams and to protect groundwater and drinking water. Activities include structural and vegetative practices to reduce runoff and retain water on the land, feedlot water quality projects, SSTS abatement grants for low income individuals, and stream bank, stream channel and shoreline protection projects. For the fiscal year 2012, BWSR awarded 12 local governments with funds.
In 2002, citizens began to notice severe algal blooms in Cedar Lake, a high value recreational lake with exceptional clarity and fisheries habitat. Clearwater River Watershed District (CRWD) began an intensive monitoring program in 2003 to identify nutrient sources and protect Cedar Lake. Through intensive lake and watershed monitoring, CRWD identified the major source of nutrients to the lake. Three nutrient impaired shallow lakes; Swartout, Albion and Henshaw Lakes, in the upper watershed and impaired wetlands discharge excess amounts of soluble phosphorus.
This project will complete a pollutant source identification and subwatershed information report and support the development of a Draft Restoration and Protection Plan (RAPP). It will also support the devlopment of a Implementation Plan that will identify target areas for BMP implementation for bacteria reductions.
This project will complete spatial and temporal revisions , recalibration and validation of 7 watershed HSPF models. These fully functioning calibrated validated executable models will simulate hydrology, sediment (sand, silt, and clay), temperature, phosphorus, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, and algae at the 12-digit HUC subbasin scale (or finer).
This project will support the completion of a final draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) document for the Osakis, Smith and Faille Lakes TMDL and the submittal to EPA for final approval.
The goal of this project is to develop a phosphorus TMDL for the six impaired lakes in the southwest portion of the Rice Creek Watershed District; Island Lake, Little Lake Johanna, Long Lake, East Moore Lake, Pike Lake and Lake Valentine.
The primary focus of this project is the collection of lake core samples to aid in the completion of lake TMDLs for Dean, Malardi & Fountain lakes. This work will enable completing tasks included in the North Fork Crow River Watershed Restoration & Protection Project (WRPP). Additional data collection is needed to update lake response models. This new data will provide a cohesive and comprehensive data collection for Dean, Malardi and Fountain lakes.
This project will continue the offering of low-interest loans to citizens, some of whom may not be able to acquire funding otherwise, for upgrading 50 septic systems to ensure compliance with state rules. Grant funds will be used to administer the low-interest loan program.
This project will evaluate and prioritize approximately 13,000 lineal feet of Lake Koronis shoreline for shoreline erosion and vegetative buffer condition. Those property owners with the most erosion, stormwater and vegetative buffer issues will be targeted to stabilize, infiltrate and buffer their shoreline. This project will also evaluate an additional 300 properties in the subcatchment area and target those properties that are best able to capture and treat stormwater from impervious surfaces.
BWSR will administer funding to eligible County projects that provide funds and other assistance to low income property owners to upgrade or replace Noncompliant Septic Systems. BWSR will also manage annual reporting completed by each County.
The goal of this project is to construct, calibrate, and validate five Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed models. The outcome will be HSPF models that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter TMDLs. These models will generate predicted output timeseries for hydrology, sediment, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen which are consistent with available sets of observed data.
The North Fork Crow River Watershed (NFCRWD) is mainly agricultural and has numerous public and private drainage ditches. Sub-surface drainage are major contributors to the sediment and nutrient loading into the North Fork Crow River and area Lakes. This project help reach the Rice Lake phosphorous reductions goals. Local landowners are willing to contribute land on public drainage systems to retain water and restore wetlands at three locations with total anticipated yearly pollutant removals of 200 tons of total suspended sediment and 235 pounds of phosphorus.
The primary land use within the North Fork Crow River Watershed District is mainly row crop agriculture with extensive public and private drainage systems. A large portion of existing tile lines have open intakes that directly transport sediment and nutrients to open ditches leading to the North Fork Crow River (NFCR). The NFCR flows into Rice Lake that is impaired for aquatic recreation due to excessive nutrients.
This project will support the review of all public comments submitted for the North Fork Crow River TMDL and make appropriate edits and changes to the draft TMDL based on MPCA guidance.
This project will complete a Watershed Restoration and Protection (WRAP) Plan that includes a set of pollutant reduction and watershed management strategies to achieve water quality standards for the listed pollutants, and that are understood and adoptable by local units of government and other stakeholders. This project will also provide an important water quality framework for civic and citizen engagement and communication, which will contribute to long-term public participation in surface water protection and restoration activities throughout the watershed.
The Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds have been assessed and many reaches have been impaired for turbidity, bacteria, and low dissolved oxygen. This project will accelerate conservation efforts to reduce overland runoff sediment, bacteria, and nutrient loadings contributing to water quality impairments in targeted subwatersheds.
The Redwood River and Cottonwood River watersheds encompass approximately 2,020 square miles of southwestern Minnesota in the Minnesota River Basin. Land use in these watersheds is mostly agricultural and area geology makes them prone to erosion. Surface water issues within the two watersheds are a concern of local leaders. The counties and Soil and Water Conservation District leaders formed the Redwood Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA) Joint Powers Board in 1983 to address sedimentation, water quality and quantity, and erosion issues.
The Sauk River and its seven reservoir lakes are impaired for turbidity, e.coli and excessive nutrients. Local studies conducted on Sauk Lake, the Sauk River Chain of Lakes and the lower reach of the Sauk River identified urban stormwater runoff as a source of sediment and nutrient loading. This project will address stormwater runoff concerns within the communities of Sauk Centre, Cold Spring and St. Cloud by providing treatment through bioretention and infiltration.
There are fifty-seven impaired water bodies in the Sauk River watershed. The goal of this project is to provide the necessary tools for the Sauk River Watershed District (SRWD) and local agencies to work together to target priority areas, install the necessary water quality restoration projects, and track what has been completed to achieve reduction goals for each impaired waterbody. First, technology will be utilized to determine where high priority runoff areas are within the Sauk River watershed. Advanced sub-watershed modeling will be refined to a smaller scale.
Approximately 70 percent of all Minnesotans rely on groundwater as their primary source of drinking water. Wells used for drinking water must be properly sealed when removed from service to protect both public health and Minnesota’s invaluable groundwater resources. The Minnesota Department of Health protects both public health and groundwater by assuring the proper sealing of unused wells.
Clean Water funds are being provided to well owners as a 50% cost-share assistance for sealing unused public water-supply wells.
Update well inventory and seal identified unused wells; Water festival -educate students on wellhead protection; Storage tanks inventory; Newsletter on turf management and fertilizer use; educate residents on proper disposal of household hazardous waste
Thiel Creek is a designated trout stream in southern Stearns County and outlets into Lake Marie and Lake Louisa. Both lakes are impaired for nutrients. Thiel Creek is experiencing severe bank erosion and local residents have expressed concern about the excessive sedimentation entering the lakes. Most of this erosion is occurring on an approximate mile reach of the creek just upstream of the outlet into the lake.
The goal of this project is to assess groundwater sustainability in the I-94 corridor between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud due to the corridor's significant expected growth, the inerent natural limits of groundwater, and the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination.
This project will target three identified drainage systems contributing to one tributary outfall to Long Lake, an impaired water body of the Sauk River Chain of Lakes. These systems produce large volumes of stormwater runoff that degrades the tributary and compromise water quality.