We like to keep an eye on the Minnesota River, which begins at Big Stone Lake.
While Big Stone supports a healthy fishery, much of our beloved Upper Minnesota River Valley is not doing so well according to the January 2022 draft of the Minnesota River Headwaters Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
Additional documents are available online at the agency's Minnesota River - Headwaters webpage.
Need a quick review of the information? At the Mankato Free Press, Tim Krohn reports in Minnesota River headwaters deteriorated from phosphorus, bacteria:
What flows from the headwaters of the Minnesota River starting at the South Dakota border can affect the river through New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter and on to the Mississippi.
The latest report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shows that a large majority of the lakes and streams in the headwaters are deteriorated from high levels of phosphorus and bacteria.
More than 80% of the watershed that makes up the headwaters fails to meet water quality standards.
“Five lakes were assessed for nutrients and all five exceeded phosphorus standards,” said Katherine Pekarek-Scott, environmental specialist at the MPCA.
Among stream segments tested, 22 of 25 are not supporting aquatic life and/or recreation.
“We have a lot of bacteria impairment so it affects recreation and aquatic life — all the fish and bugs,” she said.
Lac qui Parle Lake — the large reservoir northwest of Montevideo — does not meet standards meant to protect fish and other aquatic life.
Lac qui Parle is one of the leading goose and duck hunting refuges in the country.
Further upriver, near the South Dakota border, Big Stone Lake is faring better. Popular for walleye and northern pike fishing, the lake fully supports fish communities.
“So that’s a positive,” Pekarek-Scott said.
The headwaters watershed runs on both sides of the Minnesota River, upriver from the Lac qui Parle dam, located on the southeast end of the lake.
Pekarek-Scott said there are few wastewater treatment plants or other point-source contributors to pollutants in the lakes and streams, meaning most is coming from cropland, livestock, failing septic systems, stream-bank erosion and some from wildlife.
Hannah Sabroski, information specialist with the MPCA, said the latest report is part of a yearslong and ongoing effort to monitor rivers, streams and lakes across the state to see if they meet federal water quality standards.
“This is a culmination of several years of studies done on the headwaters,” Sabroski said.
She said the report on whether standards area being met also comes with a related watershed restoration and protection strategies report. . . .
Read the rest at the Free Press
Here's the report--it's 280 pages, so it may take a few seconds to load.
Photo: Algae blooms in Lac Qui Parle Lake from too much phosphorus and bacteria. Courtesy MPCA.
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