MPCA releases monitoring and assessment report for Mississippi River-St. Cloud watershed

For release: Nov. 28, 2012

Contact: Stephen Mikkelson, 218-316-3887

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MPCA releases monitoring and assessment report for Mississippi River-St. Cloud watershed

Brainerd, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recently released a water quality monitoring and assessment report for the Mississippi River-St. Cloud watershed. The watershed includes all or parts of Benton, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties. The stretch of the Mississippi River which flows through this watershed is well known for the quality recreational opportunities it provides, and its monitoring and assessment results will be covered in a separate report.

Surface water monitoring took place in the Mississippi River-St. Cloud watershed from 2009 through 2011. The focus of the monitoring was to characterize the fish, macroinvertebrates, habitat and water chemistry of rivers, streams and lakes in the watershed. More than 70 river and stream sites and 69 lakes were sampled. Results of the monitoring and assessment efforts found 15 stream segments impaired because of unfavorable biological communities (fish and macroinvertebrates), while elevated nutrients and bacteria are common water quality concerns throughout the watershed. Improvements could be made by reducing runoff in agricultural areas, protecting remaining forested areas, controlling stormwater runoff, improving and adding riparian buffer strips, and reducing total phosphorus levels.

To view the full monitoring and assessment report, visit the MPCA’s Mississippi River-St. Cloud Watershed webpage. This report is one of about 80 being developed over the next decade by the MPCA for all of Minnesota’s major watersheds.

With dollars provided by the Clean Water Fund (from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment), the MPCA currently conducts and oversees a variety of surface-water-monitoring activities that support its mission of helping Minnesotans protect the environment. To be successful in preventing and addressing problems, good information is needed about the status of Minnesota’s waters, potential and actual threats, options for addressing the threats, and data on how effective management actions have been. The MPCA’s monitoring efforts are focused on providing that critical information.

Broadcast version:

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recently released a watershed monitoring and assessment report for the Mississippi River-St. Cloud watershed, which includes all or parts of seven central Minnesota counties: Benton, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright.

The report provides critical information on fish, macroinvertebrates, habitat, and water chemistry of the rivers, streams, and lakes throughout the watershed. This report is one of about 80 that will be produced for all of Minnesota’s major watersheds during the next decade.

To see the monitoring and assessment report, visit the MPCA's Mississippi River-St. Cloud Watershed webpage.

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The mission of the MPCA is to work with Minnesotans to protect, conserve and improve our environment and enhance our quality of life.

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