This project will collect additional water quality and flow data on tributaries on the South Fork Crow River and Buffalo Creek. Further assessment of these reaches will provide a better understanding of what impacts these tributaries have on the impaired South Fork Crow River and Buffalo Creek.
The Zumbro River Watershed is a major watershed in the Lower Mississippi River basin in SE Minnesota. It includes parts of six counties, covering 910,291 acres. This project will assess all 13 stream reaches in the Zumbro River Watershed to determine if they are meeting their designated uses. The monitoring will entail collecting water chemistry and field parameters.
The Whitewater River is one of Minnesota's most scenic and best loved rivers. The Whitewater's pools are home to brown, brook and rainbow trout, making the river one of the state's most popular trout fishing areas. Yet, water quality is of concern. Abnormal rainfall events in Southeastern Minnesota have increased stormwater runoff which equates to increased flows, erosion and sedimentation into the Whitewater and other local streams like the Zumbro River.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
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.
State law charges the Metropolitan Council (Council) with developing and maintaining a base of technical information needed for sound water supply decisions (Minnesota Statutes 473.1565). The Council’s primary tool to provide this information is the Metro Model 2, a regional groundwater model capable of predicting the impacts of planned water demand on aquifers and connected lakes and streams. The Metro Model 2 is a modern and comprehensive groundwater model of the Twin Cities area, but it is currently out-of-date.
Regional recharge modeling with the Twin Cities daily soil water balance (SWB) model has been a fundamental part of the Metropolitan Council’s groundwater flow modeling effort and supports the Metropolitan Area Master Water Supply Plan. The SWB model is used to evaluate the impact of planned and potential land use and climate on recharge in the eleven-county metropolitan area, and supports the ongoing update of the regional groundwater flow model.
This project will collect up to one year of water quality and stream flow information on Kelle’s Coulee to aid in the development of the Valley Branch Watershed District Restoration and Protection study. The information being collected by the Washington Conservation District will be used in developing the models necessary to complete the TMDL for Kelle’s Coulee.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTS This project identified and prioritized areas in the Zumbro River Watershed that were determined critical for restoring and protecting water quality. Studies suggested that small areas of the landscape contribute disproportionately to nonpoint source pollution. So implementation of conservation projects that focus on those areas will maximize water quality benefits and ensure efficient use of resources.
