Gov. Mark Dayton recently released a report summarizing key findings from 10 Water Quality Town Hall meetings held last year across the state. The report, which summarizes more than 3,500 suggestions from more than 2,000 meeting participants, recommends strategies to boost water quality education efforts, empower local action and collaboration, and increase investments in local clean water infrastructure, among other ideas. Improving education and reducing runoff ranked among the top themes and comments.

Holding more water on the land was also a top concern across the state. Participants in the town hall meetings, who rotated among small group discussions, suggested a wide range of strat­egies, reflecting regional topographic differenc­es along with the assertion that solutions to hold water on the land need to be site specific. Many of the recommended strategies provide multiple benefits. For example, rain gardens not only slow the flow of water, but also provide habitat for pollinators and can serve as educational tools for communities. Cover crops another example. They help reduce erosion and build soil health, further reducing the need for fertilizer and other inputs.

Top strategies suggested for agricultural areas:

• Expand cover crops
• Reduce tillage
• Increase crop diversity
• Increase perennial crops
• Improve drainage management for better water retention
• Improve soil health 

Top strategies suggested for urban areas:

• Expand rain gardens
• Improve storm water management
• Expand green and permeable infrastructure
• Increase native landscaping

When releasing the report, the governor emphasized the need for his proposed $1.54 billion bonding packing, which includes money for water infrastructure and resources. See the governor’s website for a full list of projects included his public works proposal.

This will be the final session for the two-term governor, who has made water quality a top issue of his time in office. The Legislature, which convened Feb. 20, must complete its work by May 21 this year.

Photo above: Participants talk water quality at the St. Cloud town hall meeting Sept. 6, 2017.

Duluth’s famous retired ore carrier, the William A. Irvin, and privately-owned tourist, charter and recreational vessels will have to find new, temporary homes for this fall’s proposed cleanup of the Minnesota Slip.  

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is requesting public comments on the environmental review of the cleanup through March 7.

The Minnesota Slip is contaminated from a century of marine- and shipping-related activities that helped Duluth become a world class port. However, for five weeks this fall, visitors will see construction equipment in an otherwise empty slip during the proposed sediment cleanup project.

The nearly $2 million proposal will place clean material, dredged from the Duluth/Superior harbor, on top the existing contaminated sediments. This newly created “cap” will benefit the creatures that dwell in the sediment and water, including the fish community, while effectively isolating the contaminants from possible release to the harbor, the St. Louis River and Lake Superior.

Currently, the slip’s contaminated sediments are 7 to 12 feet thick with an estimated volume of 37,000 cubic yards. Contaminants include polyaromatic hydrocarbons, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc.

For the project to move forward, state and federal permits and authorizations will be required. Funding is secured as a 35/65 match between state bonding dollars and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lake’s Legacy Act.

State agencies use an Environmental Assessment Worksheet to help decide whether a project requires a more extensive Environmental Impact Statement. The worksheet covers site location details, nearby resources and other elements, including wells, soil types, water use, air and odor emissions, and traffic.

The worksheet for this project is available online or by calling Patrice Jensen at 651-757-2465. Written comments may be sent to her at patrice.jensen@state.mn.us, or mailed to her attention at the MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN 55155. All comments must be received by 4:30 p.m. on March 7.

Often overshadowed by the more polluted St. Louis River, lakes and other rivers in this watershed have their own water quality issues. The MPCA recently released two reports on water conditions in the St. Louis River watershed, part of the Lake Superior Basin. The reports are open for comment through March 22.

The two reports are the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) study and the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) report. The two are companion documents that quantify pollutant levels, identify pollution sources, and propose ways to return water quality to an acceptable level.

Monitoring and analysis showed water quality is fair-to-good in the watershed’s entire stream network and many of its 375 lakes. In particular, lake water quality is very good in the watershed’s headwaters and Whiteface River area in northern St. Louis and Lake counties.

Conditions affecting the watershed’s stream water quality for aquatic life and recreation such as fish and swimming include:

• Sediment — soil and other matter — that makes the water cloudy and negatively impacts aquatic life
• Changes to stream flow that can lead to erosion and other problems
• Culverts that prevent fish and aquatic insect travel between stream sections
• Excess bacteria in some streams that can be unhealthy for human contact

The reports recommend strategies for restoring Dinham Lake and reducing West Two Rivers Reservoir’s nutrient levels, which can lead to excessive algae in the lakes.

Other strategies include streambank stabilization, managing stormwater, protecting headwater streams, and working with local cattle farmers to improve pasture and manure management.

Phosphorus and sediment also currently impair aquatic life in West Two River and Stony Creek. The cold-water fishery in Wyman Creek, outside Hoyt Lakes, is also severely impaired due to high water temperatures.

Comments should be submitted in writing by March 22 to Mike Kennedy, MPCA, 525 Lake Avenue South, Suite 400, Duluth, MN 55802, or by email to mike.kennedy@state.mn.us. Questions about the reports can be directed to Kennedy at 218-302-6629 or 800-657-3864.

Written comments must include a statement of your interest in the report, a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft report you believe should be changed, and specific reasons for your position.

Many partners that helped develop the drafts include the St. Louis County, North and South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and many local interested citizens.

Lake Superior’s North Shore between Duluth’s Lester River and Beaver Bay is one of the state’s premier scenic and recreational attractions. Unfortunately, increasing development, altered drainage, forests and vegetation have contributed to seven impaired streams. Two MPCA draft water quality reports, open for public comment through March 28 address these problems and propose several restoration and protection strategies.

The reports open for public comment are the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) study and the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) report. The two are companion documents that quantify pollutant levels, identify pollution sources, and propose ways to return water quality to an acceptable level.

The WRAPS Report summarizes information, tools and stakeholder input that can be used by local governments, landowners and others to decide on the best strategies and most effective places for those strategies to protect and restore water quality.

Known as the Lake Superior – South watershed, most of this area’s streams have good water quality. Problem areas tend to be in the streams’ lower sections as they approach Lake Superior. Conditions affecting the watershed’s water quality include highly erosive clay soils that are typical of former lake sediments deposited about 11,000 years ago, and stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces that contribute E.coli bacteria.

The reports recommend strategies to stabilize streams, minimize lawns and impervious surfaces, plant trees, and establish conservation easements.

The draft reports are available on the MPCA’s Lake Superior - South Watershed webpage or at MPCA’s Duluth office, 525 Lake Avenue South, 55802. Comments should be submitted in writing by March 28 to Brian Fredrickson, MPCA, 525 Lake Avenue South, Suite 400, Duluth, MN 55802, or by email to brian.fredrickson@state.mn.us. No comments will be accepted by telephone. However, if you need further assistance or clarification, please call Fredrickson at 218-302-6604.

Written comments must include a statement of your interest in the report, a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft report you believe should be changed, and specific reasons for your position.

 Water quality in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed has persistent problems with excess phosphorus, sediment, bacteria, and other contaminants, according to a recent MPCA report.

The watershed covers 1,835 square miles of south-central Minnesota and includes 87 miles of the Minnesota River, from just north of St. Peter, to its confluence with the Mississippi River. The watershed comprises the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 133 lakes larger than 10 acres, 2,482 miles of tributaries to the Minnesota River, and the cities of Bloomington, Prior Lake, Winthrop, Waconia, New Prague, and Le Sueur.

As part of its regular water-monitoring cycle, the MPCA assessed water quality at more than 200 sites and found violations of state water quality standards throughout the watershed. Elevated levels of phosphorus are fueling nuisance algae blooms, which can deter recreation and create public health hazards. Sediment is clouding the water in lakes and streams and can harm habitat for fish and other aquatic life. The bacteria contamination detected could pose human health risks.

Of the bodies of water assessed, 84% of streams and 57% of lakes do not protect fish, bugs, and other aquatic life. Fifty-five percent of lakes failed to meet water quality standards for recreation. In lakes tested for mercury in fish, 74% exceeded standards.

Despite the problems, the MPCA’s report also noted some good news. Four lakes in the watershed — Crystal, McMahon, Mitchell, and Bryant — are now meeting water quality standards that they failed to meet previously. The improvements are the result of successful restoration efforts by local organizations.

Land use is a major factor affecting water quality, and in this watershed it runs the gamut from almost exclusively row-crop agriculture in the west, to residential suburbs and urban industry in the northeast. More than 90% of the wetlands present prior to European settlement have been drained to accommodate cropland. The lack of wetlands prevents water retention on the landscape and leads to increased storm-related runoff and discharges that can destabilize stream banks and increase sediment into the water. Similarly, in urban and suburban environments, impervious surfaces send huge volumes of water into storm drains and nearby bodies of water.

Local and state entities have made major efforts toward restoring and protecting the Lower Minnesota Watershed’s water quality. But dramatic improvements on the landscape are still needed to meet water quality standards in the watershed’s lakes, rivers, and streams.

The next step in the MPCA’s watershed management process will be to identify “stressors” — the conditions contributing to water quality problems in the watershed. For more information, read the full Lower Minnesota River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report.

Photo above right: Rickie Guderian, part of MPCA’s summer monitoring crew, holds a shortnose gar caught in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed. MPCA monitoring staff examine fish, bugs, and other aquatic life to help gauge water quality.