Waterfront Bulletin for August: Comments sought on how to improve Minnesota River and tributaries

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Waterfront Bulletin

August 2019

Sept. 20: Deadline for commenting on Minnesota River Basin studies

Sediment clouds Minnesota River

While cities and producers across the Minnesota River Basin have made changes to help water quality, the state’s namesake river and its tributaries continue to face several pollution challenges. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and local partners have drafted several studies that identify the pollutant sources, reduction goals, and strategies to get there:

  • Minnesota River and Greater Blue Earth River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Total Suspended Solids
  • Minnesota River-Mankato watershed TMDL and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS)
  • Watonwan River watershed TMDL and WRAPS
  • Lower Minnesota River watershed TMDL and WRAPS

Altogether, the studies look at dozens of river segments impaired by bacteria, sediment, nutrients and/or chloride as well as 50 lakes with nutrient levels high enough to cause algae.

See the stories and web links below for more information.

The studies are open for comment through 4:30 p.m. Sept. 20. The agency is especially interested in comments that focus on policies and practices to expand or implement to reach water quality goals. After the comment period closes, the MPCA will revise the reports according to comments received and then submit them to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for final approval.

For details, please visit:


Draft Lake Pepin TMDL report open for informal comment

In addition to the Minnesota River studies on formal public notice, the MPCA has posted the Draft: Lake Pepin Watershed Phosphorus TMDL Report on its website for informal review and comment. Interested parties may submit comments through Sept. 20. They may also request a meeting by phone or in person to learn more about the draft TMDL. Send comments, or meeting requests, to Justin Watkins, MPCA watershed supervisor, at justin.watkins@state.mn.us or 507-206-2621.

The formal public notice will follow later this year.


Upcoming events: Farm BMPs showcase, boat tour and open house

For partners and people interested in learning more about the Minnesota River, its tributaries and downstream impacts, the following events are scheduled:

  • Aug. 28: 12:30-2:30 p.m., Farm BMPs Showcase, Greg Entinger farm, rural New Prague. See the story below for details.
  • Aug. 28: 3:30-7 p.m., Boat Tour of the Lower Minnesota River, from Savage to St. Paul.
  • Aug. 29: 4-7 p.m., Lake Pepin Legacy Open House on the Minnesota River and Lake Pepin studies, Lake City Sportsmen’s Club.

For more information, see the “Events” webpage on the Minnesota River Basin portal.


Solutions for the Minnesota River: Farm practices build soil health and improve water quality

greg entinger

Greg Entinger in rural New Prague was a farmer with an erosion problem. Today he is a proponent of strip tillage, cover crops and other practices that build soil health and reduce erosion. By keeping more soil on the land and holding more water, these practices also help water quality downstream.

Entinger, in the photo at right, grows corn and soybeans on 925 acres in Le Sueur and Rice counties that drain to Sand Creek and then the Minnesota River. He has implemented several Best Management Practices (BMPs) that help water quality. However, water quality wasn’t his main reason for changing his cropping system.

“The strip tillage because I had erosion … in 2013, we had so much erosion. I decided to make a change. With an engineering background, I thought ‘What can I bring to the farm?’ ”

After doing online research and consulting with other farmers, he decided to switch to strip tillage, a type of conservation tillage, in 2015.

“I was bound and determined to do it. I bet the farm on it – literally,” Entinger said.

His investment paid off. Since then, he has seen a bump in yields and a decrease in costs, meaning more profit per acre.

Wanting to show other farmers that conservation can pay economically as well as environmentally, Entinger decided to enroll in the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). He will receive his certification at the Farm BMPs Showcase at his farm Aug. 28. See the full story on the MPCA website.


More changes needed to improve water quality of Minnesota River and tributaries

sediment jars minnesota river

Changes in water and land management are needed across the Minnesota River Basin to improve water quality in the state’s namesake river, as well as streams and lakes throughout the 10 million acres of the basin.

The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report for the main portion of the Minnesota River and the Greater Blue Earth River basin focuses on total suspended solids or sediment and other particles that cloud the water. The study calls for decreasing sediment in the river by 50%. Too much water draining at too fast a rate erodes soil from land as well as streambanks, bluffs, and ravines, muddying the water. The muddy water then makes it hard for fish and other aquatic species to breathe, find food, and reproduce. The sediment is also filling in the Lower Minnesota River and even Lake Pepin downstream at a much faster rate than before European settlement – and intensive farming – of the basin.

The TMDL report is available through the Minnesota River Basin portal and is open for comment through Sept. 20.

See the full story on the MPCA website.


Carving a path from polluted to more picturesque in the Minnesota River-Mankato watershed

Minneopa Falls near Mankato, Minn., runs green from algae

Depending on the season and weather, Minneopa Falls southwest of Mankato can be picturesque, chocolate-brown or even vivid green. In the latter cases, geography, rainfall, and land-use combine to dislodge tons of sediment, along with fertilizer and algae.

“We can’t change the geography, but we can use better land uses to tilt the scene toward improved water quality,” says Wayne Cords, regional watershed manager for the MPCA.

Minneopa Creek and its falls lie within the Minnesota River-Mankato Watershed, where new reports detail causes of water pollution, ways to improve water quality, and how landowners are involved. The Total Maximum Daily Load and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies reports are available through the Minnesota River Basin portal and are open for comment through Sept. 20.

The Minnesota River-Mankato Watershed drains about 842,000 acres among nine counties through 1,564 miles of streams into the Minnesota River. The Minnesota River valley, carved by a large, prehistoric glacial river, lies hundreds of feet below the upland areas. Elevation through the upland portions of the watershed is relatively flat and well-drained through an extensive network of constructed ditches and subsurface tile. In the transition, active “knick points” with steep stream slopes cut down to the much lower elevation of the Minnesota River.

Many of the streams and lakes in this watershed are in poor condition, often failing to meet water quality standards for aquatic life and recreation such as fish and swimming. Pollutants or conditions contributing to degraded water quality include: Altered hydrology (ditching and tiling), excess nitrogen, excess sediment/solids, excess phosphorus, low dissolved oxygen, degraded habitat, barriers to fish passage, high water temperature, and high levels of bacteria.

“Most of the changes needed to improve and protect water resources are voluntary. Communities and individuals hold the power to restore and protect waters in the Minnesota River-Mankato Watershed. With agriculture the major land use, farming practices that help protect and improve water quality will make the difference,” Cord says.

See the full story on the MPCA website.


Improving Watonwan River water quality hinges on land use practices that reduce soil, fertilizer loss

Sediment pours into the Watonwan River in southern MN with spring storm runoff

Depending on the season and weather, the Watonwan River can run clear or mud-brown. In the latter case, geography, rainfall, and land use combine to dislodge tons of sediment, along with fertilizer and algae.

The Watonwan River rises in central Cottonwood County and flows 113 miles through flat farmland in northern Watonwan and western Blue Earth counties, past the city of Madelia, until it flows into the Blue Earth River about eight miles southwest of Mankato.

Water quality conditions in the Watonwan River Watershed reflect general water quality across southern and western Minnesota: The majority of streams and lakes are not meeting water quality standards for aquatic life and recreation such as fish and swimming. Stormwater runoff and fertilizer loss in drainage tile are the main sources of pollutants in the watershed.

New reports that detail causes of water pollution in the Watonwan River watershed, ways to improve water quality, and how landowners are involved, are available for public review and comment through Sept. 20. The Total Maximum Daily Load and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies reports are available through the Minnesota River Basin portal and are open for comment through Sept. 20.

Much of the Watonwan River has been straightened and altered to provide for drainage of farmland and for flood reduction. Though the vast majority of the Watonwan watershed is used for farming, mainly corn and soybeans, small lakes and wetlands provide significant habitat for waterfowl.

Watershed restoration depends on substantially higher adoption of land use practices, such as: Decreased fertilizer use, cover crops, decreased tillage, cropland surface runoff treatment, cropland tile drainage treatment, and improved manure application.

See the full story on the MPCA website.


Sediment, phosphorus, and bacteria are big problems for water quality in the Lower Minnesota River watershed

Lower Minnesota River watershed

Many lakes and streams in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed are not meeting water quality standards, according to a new report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Sediment from eroding streambanks, phosphorus from both urban and rural runoff, and bacteria from livestock manure, failing septic systems, and urban stormwater are putting stress on fish and other aquatic life, and making the water less attractive for recreation.

The Lower Minnesota River Watershed in south-central Minnesota covers 87 miles of the Minnesota River, from Ottawa, Minnesota, to the river’s confluence with the Mississippi. The 1,835-square-mile watershed also includes the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 133 lakes larger than 10 acres, and 2,482 miles of tributaries to the Minnesota River. Land use ranges from almost exclusively row-crop agriculture in the west to residential suburbs and urban industry in the northeast.

Sediment, phosphorus, and bacteria are the primary water pollutants in the watershed. Excess sediment clouds the water and can inhibit beneficial plants and harm fish and bugs. High bacteria levels may make water unsafe for swimming and other recreation. Excess phosphorus can cause algae growth, including harmful blue-green algae, which is toxic to dogs and humans.

However, not all the news is bad. Four lakes — 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 state and local entities.

“The Lower Minnesota River WRAPS report recommends ways to improve water quality,” says Wayne Cords, regional watershed manager for the MPCA. “Many of them are focused on agriculture because it’s the dominant use of land in the watershed, but all watershed residents can have an impact.” Meaningful public participation helped shape the report recommendations, and participants identified specific lakes and streams as priorities for action.

The Total Maximum Daily Load and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies reports are available through the Minnesota River Basin portal and are open for comment through Sept. 20.

See the full story on the MPCA website.


In the news and online: Eco Experience opens, DNR grant program accepting proposals