The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) received $2 million less than requested in legislative funding this year for the fiscal year 2016-17 biennium, leading to delays in some watershed work. The agency was on track to monitor and assess Minnesota’s 80 major watersheds on a 10-year cycle. That timeline now shifts to a 11-year cycle because of reductions in summer help, full-time staff, and aid to local partners.

Less funding means less monitoring will be done each year. Also, the agency has fewer staff members and contactors to work on developing strategies to restore and protect water bodies.

Called the watershed approach, the cycle consists of:

• Monitoring and assessing rivers and lakes in major watersheds to see if they meet water quality standards.
• Identifying stressors to water quality and conditions fostering healthy waters.
• Developing Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) to restore and protect water bodies.
• Implementing projects and activities to restore and protect water quality.

Cycles are staggered with an average of 8 watersheds beginning a new cycle each year. With the funding shortfall, the following watersheds will see a delay of 1 to 2 years in monitoring and 6 months to 1 year for their strategy development:

• Rapid River
• Redwood River
• Cottonwood River
• Rainy Lake
• Lower Rainy River

The following watersheds will see a delay of 6 months to 2 years for their strategy development (WRAPS):

• Snake River (Red River Basin)
• Upper/Lower Red Lakes
• Otter Tail River
• Watonwan River
• Minnesota River - Mankato
• Des Moines River
• Lower Minnesota River
• Minnesota River Headwaters
• Lac Qui Parle River
• Nemadji River
• Lake Superior South
• Lake Superior North
• Cloquet River
• Vermillion River

With this plan, the MPCA is striving to minimize disruption to local projects and to complete the first cycle in all 80 watersheds before starting the second one.

For more information about the watershed approach, visit the agency website or contact Glenn Skuta, statewide water monitoring supervisor, at 651-757-2730.

Related information:

• Legacy Amendment behind Minnesota’s water smarts in the Pioneer Press
• Swimmable, fishable, fixable? What we’ve learned so far about Minnesota waters on the MPCA website
  

Small ponds could make a big difference to the Le Sueur River and downstream waters.

Holding back water in small areas of farm fields for five to 10 days after rain would make a big difference to the river, according to Patrick Belmont, an assistant professor at Utah State University who has studied the Le Sueur watershed for several years.

 Holding that water would reduce the peak flows in the river system, helping prevent erosion that is degrading the water and the life within it.

 “That five to 10 days is the Goldilocks time where you reduce sediment and also phosphorus and nitrogen,” he told 50-some citizens and landowners at a meeting in Pemberton in southern Minnesota this summer (photo above right). The meeting was held by the Le Sueur River Watershed Network, whose members started meeting in 2012 and developed seven recommendations for a healthier watershed.

 “This place is not going to turn back into tall grasses and prairie,” Belmont said. “But we can use a small portion of the land – 4 to 5 acres per field – for five to 10 days to reduce sediment.”

 That reduction could be 50 to 75 percent of the sediment load hurting the Le Sueur, the Minnesota River and waters further downstream.

 “A small fraction of the landscape could get us there,” Belmont said.

 The idea met with some concern from farmers and landowners about taking land out of production. Belmont encouraged landowners to be proactive, decide on incentives they need to set aside land, and seek support for them.

 Read the full story about the river and the researcher on the MPCA website.

 Related report:

• Le Sueur River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies on the MPCA website

• Clearwater River
• East Fork Des Moines River
• Lower Des Moines River
• Lower Minnesota River
• Rainy River – Headwaters
• Red River of the North – Marsh River
• Upper/Lower Red Lake
• Wild Rice River

The MPCA is also looking for data on the Minnesota River from the headwaters to the Mississippi River.

If you have data from outside a priority watershed or one of these areas, the agency will also accept it.

 The MPCA will use your data to:

• Help plan for future monitoring efforts including what to monitor for and where to monitor.
• Identify pollutant “stressors” that are causing or contributing to problems or threats to fishing, swimming, and recreational uses.
• Evaluate the success of ongoing activities to protect and restore water quality.

Deadline: Submit project, lab, and field data now through Nov. 2.

Deadline: By Dec. 15 you will need to review the data entered by the MPCA.

Find out more on the MPCA's surface water data website.

Your role in collecting these data is important to Minnesota’s effort to identify impaired waters, as well as those waters in need of additional protection. Thank you for your help.

For more information on submitting data:

• Nancy Flandrick, 651-757-2361 (St. Paul, Duluth, Rochester, and Mankato regional offices)
• Jean Garvin, 651-757-2378 (Brainerd, Willmar, Marshall, and Detroit Lakes regional offices)

 For more information about how we use your data to assess lakes and streams see the MPCA’s water quality assessment website.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) process for the Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) is now open. Agreements/contracts under this program are financed through the Minnesota Clean Water Fund as established by the Legacy Amendment.

The MPCA will award up to $1.5 million in two-year terms with the option to extend an additional two years. All proposals must be submitted through the SWIFT e-supplier portal and must be received no later than Oct. 13. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered. Date is subject to change. Please check the SWIFT Event for any updates to submittal date.

Proposers must have a SWIFT Vendor ID and Supplier Portal Account to access the RFP and apply for WPLMN funding. Detailed registration directions are available on the  SWIFT e-supplier portal.  Proposers should be aware that it can take several days to receive a required Vendor ID from SWIFT. If you need technical assistance for the SWIFT e-supplier portal, please contact the SWIFT helpdesk line: 651-201-8100, option 1.

 The primary objective of the WPLMN is to obtain spatial and long-term pollutant load information from Minnesota’s rivers and streams. Eligible entities include:

• Soil and Water Conservation Districts
• Watershed Districts
• Regional Planning Organizations
• Watershed Management Organizations
• Local government units (LGUs such as counties, cities, townships, and Lake Improvement Districts)
• Regional governmental groups
• Joint powers boards
• Minnesota colleges and universities
• Nonprofit organizations
• Native American tribal governments

This RFP seeks local partners to collect water quality data at select sites in the Red River, Minnesota River, Upper Mississippi River, Rainy River, and Lower Mississippi River Basins. Water quality samples will be collected across a full range of flow conditions with the greatest emphasis given to periods of moderate and high flow.

Additionally, local partners will use the FLUX32 model  to yield estimates of contaminant loading from within a watershed. All pollutant load estimates will be reviewed by an MPCA verification team.

Recipients will be notified and required to submit a detailed work plan and budget.

Please note that the successful execution of these projects by the start of the monitoring season is dependent on adhering to this process and timeline. Additionally, recipients will be required to use SWIFT to review and approve, through electronic signature, the final agreement or contract and work plan.

The MPCA invites comments on a report on reducing pollutants in Lake Winona and 17 stream sections in the Mississippi River-Winona watershed in southeast Minnesota. The report is open for comment through Sept. 24.

The streams include the Whitewater River (photo at right) and tributaries, many of them popular for trout fishing and other recreation. The river and streams all flow into the Mississippi in the Winona area. This watershed covers 419,200 acres in Wabasha, Winona and Olmsted counties. The majority of land is used for farming.

 This report is on a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study, which determines the maximum amount of pollutants that a water body can accept and still meet standards. This study will help local partners decide on ways to restore Lake Winona and streams.

The pollutants in this case include phosphorus that causes algae, bacteria that may make water unsafe for swimming, sediment that makes water too cloudy for fish and other aquatic life, and nitrate levels that may make water unsafe for drinking.

This area of Minnesota is vulnerable to pollution because of its karst landscape. In karst, only a thin layer of soil covers the porous bedrock underneath and allows pollutants on the land to easily reach groundwater used for drinking. In a karst landscape, where caves and sinkholes are common, streams and groundwater mix as water moves through the bedrock.

The fish kill in the Whitewater River in July is not part of this study. While the fish kill is still under investigation, it highlights the need to identify pollution problems and take action to restore water quality.

For more information on the study or to submit written comments, contact Shaina Keseley, MPCA project manager, at shaina.keseley@state.mn.us or 507-206-2622.

Related story and report:

• Whitewater fish kill cause eluding investigators in the Winona Daily News
• Summary of Mississippi River-Winona Watershed Stressor ID Report: Most streams support healthy fish and bug populations, though 12 stream sections showing signs of stress