Water report improvement

[Lee Borgersen]

    'Year of water' reports improvements 

 Jan 12, 2018

  ...
A focus on water quality in Minnesota has resulted in data about lakes and streams in the northern part of the state.

 
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton kicked off 2017 as the “Year of Water Action,” urging businesses, the agricultural industry, outdoor enthusiasts, communities and families to take action to conserve and improve water quality.

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From mid-June through September 2017, biological monitoring crews from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sampled a total of 921 sites in rivers, streams, and ditches across the state for fish - at 420 sites, and macroinvertebrates - at 501 sites.
Measuring and evaluating the health of fish, macroinvertebrates and plants helps to distinguish between naturally-occurring variation, and changes caused by human activities.
The north biological monitoring unit sampled sites in the Rainy River Headwaters, Rainy Lake and Rapid River watersheds and the North Fork Crow River.


Rare species
The north unit found several rare species including lake sturgeon in the Littlefork watershed; northern brook lamprey - a species of special concern - in the Lake of the Woods and Ottertail watersheds; pugnose shiner in the Ottertail, Pine and North Fork Crow River watersheds; and the least darter - special concern - in the Pine River watershed.

Water monitoring

The MPCA’s water quality monitoring unit collected data from about 370 stream and 630 lake sampling events in the same major watersheds as well as the Rainy and St. Croix Rivers, several streams in central Minnesota, and dozens of lakes for routine condition monitoring. Local partners and citizen volunteers also helped by collecting water samples and from lakes and streams in many watersheds.
The water quality monitoring unit also participated in the National Lakes Assessment. The 150-lake random survey across Minnesota focused on determining the suitability of lakes for recreation, aquatic life and habitat.
With the close of the year, comes good news about northern Minnesota's waters.
Water quality is good to excellent in the 2,954 square miles that makes up Rainy River-Headwaters watershed, reports the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
About 85 percent watershed is undeveloped and in state or federal ownership, which the MPCA cites as a key reason for the prevalence of high water quality, said a monitory and assessment report released in 2017.

In 2014, the MPCA began intensive watershed monitoring of this watershed’s surface waters, including Ash, Bear Island, Cross, Dunka, Dumbbell, Isabella, Island, Kawishiwi, Little Indian Sioux, Little Isabella, Moose, Shagawa, and Stony rivers. The MPCA partnered with Cook and Lake County Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Vermilion Community College to conduct water chemistry sampling at 13 streams. The MPCA, Lake County SWCD, University of Minnesota-Duluth, National Park Service, and local volunteers monitored 60 lakes. The results of the monitoring were used to assess all surface waterbodies for aquatic life, recreation and fish consumption.

Because forests and wetlands dominate the landscape, monitored stream resources show exceptional biological, chemical, and physical characteristics. Most support a diversity of  and  species, habitat for aquatic and wild life, recreational opportunities, and timber production.
The Rainy River-Headwaters watershed covers 1,890,689 acres; 3,531 lakes represent 267,654 of the watershed’s acreage; and wetlands represent another 362,218 acres.

The watershed starts in northern Cook and Lake counties and flows west and northwesterly into St. Louis County and the Canadian border waters and Basswood Lake and the Rainy River.
The Rainy River-Headwaters watershed contains large portions of the Boundary Waters and Superior National Forest as well as much of northeastern Minnesota. Filled with massive tracts of upland and lowland forest, the watershed is dotted with more than 1,200 lakes and 400 streams.
The highest quality stream resources, based on aquatic life, habitat, and water chemistry are: Bezhik Creek, Denley Creek, Little Isabella River, Mitawan Creek, Snake River, Jack Pine Creek, Cross River, Moose River, and Stony River.

A few stream sections and lakes are impaired, meaning they fail to meet water quality standards all the time. They are typically limited to the lower reaches of stream and lake systems where likely human stressors from land use practices may accumulate. Stressor examples include historical and recent forest cover changes, urban and industrial development, and wetland drainage.

Key impairments found in lakes and/or streams include high levels of sediment affecting water clarity, E. coli bacteria that may make the water unsafe for recreation like swimming, and mercury in fish tissue that requires limits on consumption.

Results of this recent research are included in the Rainy River-Headwater Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report.


Much to protect

The Upper/Lower Red Lake watershed in northern Minnesota is one of the few in the state where large areas are still in their natural state and the waters in pristine condition. As such, many of the water quality strategies here focus on protection instead of restoration.
Vast expanses of wetlands and forests, combined with very little development, results in generally good water quality across the watershed. However, there are issues that negatively impact water quality, and fish and aquatic insect communities.

The Upper/Lower Red Lake watershed covers 1.2 million acres, mostly in Beltrami County with portions in Koochiching, Itasca, and Clearwater counties. Less than 1 percent of the land within the watershed is used for crop production. About 6 percent is used for pasture or hay. Upper and Lower Red Lake together encompass an area of 288,800 acres. They are two of the largest lakes in the state and comprise 24 percent of the watershed’s surface area. And, despite years of effort to increase drainage, wetlands still cover 48 percent of the watershed. Only 1.5 percent of the watershed is developed. A substantial portion of the watershed is comprised of reservation land that is part of the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

While the watershed’s many wetlands play a major role in maintaining water quality, they can have some negative effects as well. For example, rain storms can flush organic matter and water to streams, where the influx can lower dissolved oxygen concentrations, which in turn can stress fish and aquatic insects. Wetland streams are characterized by fine sediments and slow currents. These conditions can reduce stream channel development and habitat complexity, which is not necessarily good for supporting diverse communities of fish and aquatic insects.

Upper and Lower Red Lakes are relatively shallow with vast surface areas. Nutrients in the lake bottom sediments are subject to becoming re-suspended during windy and choppy conditions and result in nuisance algae blooms.

Bacteria concentrations are a concern in 10 stream sections that exceeded thresholds set for safe swimming. With so little development, a likely cause of elevated bacteria levels could be from wildlife such as waterfowl and beavers.


A focus on water quality in Minnesota has resulted in data about lakes and streams in the northern part of the state.

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