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Monitoring
crews from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and its local partners
are beginning the final phase of a 10-year effort to assess the condition of
rivers, streams, and lakes in Minnesota. In addition, crews will begin tracking
progress in a few watersheds that were among the first to be studied intensely.
This work is funded by the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2008.
The
most intensive monitoring activities will focus on six of Minnesota’s 80 major
watersheds. Each watershed is comprised of a network of interconnected streams,
lakes, ditches, and wetlands. The intent is to develop a complete picture of
conditions of various water bodies within each watershed.
This
effort includes studying the biology in the watershed. Biological monitoring is
designed to measure and evaluate the condition of rivers and streams by
studying the fish and aquatic invertebrates, as well as habitat, flow, and
water chemistry. Examples of aquatic invertebrates include insect larvae,
crayfish, snails, small clams, worms, and leeches.
Two
teams will do the biological monitoring, one out of Brainerd and one out of St.
Paul. This summer, the north team will work in Lower Rainy River, Rapid, and
Rainy Lake watersheds in far northern Minnesota. The south team will work in
the Blue Earth, Cottonwood, and Redwood River watersheds. The south team will
also monitor the St. Croix River along the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Monitoring
to track progress from the first 10- year period will occur in the North Fork
Crow, Pomme de Terre, and Snake River watersheds.
To
see biological monitoring teams in action, you can watch short videos on fish sampling and invertebrate sampling on the MPCA’s biological monitoring web page.
In
addition, other MPCA crews will conduct monitoring to determine the quality of
lakes and wetlands and determine watershed pollutant loads. The MPCA Water
Quality Monitoring Unit will collect water chemistry data on lakes and streams
in each watershed and at numerous locations along the Rainy River and St. Croix
rivers. The MPCA is committed to monitoring all lakes greater than 500 acres in
size, and as many lakes over 100 acres as possible. The lake monitoring teams
will focus on water clarity, nutrient concentrations and other water chemistry
parameters to assess lakes for their ability to support recreational uses. MPCA
will also partner with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to
gather fish and plant data to help determine the health of lake aquatic
communities.
Other
MPCA monitoring staff, working with the DNR and local water resource managers, will
continue to track flow, pollutant loads, and water quality trends on all the
state’s largest rivers, on a majority of tributary rivers, and at 125
additional river and stream stations.
Wetland
monitoring crews will sample plants and invertebrates in 100 randomly picked wetlands
statewide to determine wetland condition across Minnesota. They will be doing
this work as part of a national survey of wetlands across the United States.
This will be the second survey of this type, which was last done in 2012.
The
MPCA also relies on a large contingent of volunteers and local partners to
collect water quality data on lakes and streams. Several groups have received
funds through Surface Water Assessment Grants to do this work.
The
MPCA has standards for what the biology and water chemistry should look like at
a given sampling location. If samples do not meet those expectations, the
sampling location could be considered impaired, and restoration activities will
be explored. For lakes and streams that are meeting standards, protection
strategies may be warranted.
For
more information about these monitoring program activities, visit the MPCA’s water quality condition monitoring web
page.
Broadcast version
Monitoring
crews from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and its local partners are
beginning the final year of a ten-year effort to assess the condition of
rivers, streams, and lakes in Minnesota.
This work is being funded by the Clean Water Fund from the
constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2008.
The
majority of the monitoring activities will focus on specific watersheds. This
summer, monitoring crews will work in the Lower Rainy, Rapid, Rainy Lake, Blue
Earth, Cottonwood, and Redwood River Watersheds. It will also monitor the St.
Croix River along its border with Wisconsin and the Rainy River along the
Canadian border. The second cycle of
watershed monitoring will begin in the Pomme de Terre, North Fork Crow, and
Snake River Watersheds to determine if river and stream conditions have changed
over time.
More information on this monitoring
program can be found on the MPCA’s Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us.
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The mission of the MPCA is to protect and improve the environment and enhance human health.
St. Paul • Brainerd • Detroit Lakes • Duluth • Mankato • Marshall • Rochester • Willmar
www.pca.state.mn.us • Toll-free and TDD 800-657-3864
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