Pat
Baskfield
Lives near the Watonwan River and works on Minnesota River Water Quality
Monitoring
Hydrologist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
I
first visited the Minnesota River about ten years ago. At that time I
knew it was polluted but did not know much about the river beyond that.
Today I have come to know the river as a spectacular resource, a true
diamond in the rough. The valley itself I regard as some of the most spectacular
scenery in Minnesota, a secret to most Minnesotans. The river itself I
have found to be a blend of its tributary inputs; cleanest in the west
while becoming progressively more turbid and algae laden, at times, as
one move downstream. My future vision of the river is a picture of uncertainty.
Like most, I would like to see a river that flows clean most of the year
but I don’t know if that will happen at least not until we start
to value our environment for what it really is, our home.
I have always looked at the resources of the Minnesota River Valley, be
it the Minnesota, one of its tributaries or the valley itself as true
gifts. Being human, we make mistakes; in the process of being human we
have degraded these resources. In an effort to bring continued awareness
of the state of the rivers and progress made or a lost over time, a successful
effort I have been fortunate to be a part of has been in the development
and writing of the State of the Minnesota River Reports. These reports
are a compilation of water quality data from agencies and groups monitoring
water quality across the basin. The reports are not mandated by any of
the state agencies, they came about from a handful of people that thought
it was in the best interest of the state to know how water quality in
the basin was changing over time and what a comprehensive view of the
data looked like.
My greatest interest when it comes to the Minnesota River and its tributaries
is the exquisite beauty of these water courses. I live on one of the Minnesota’s
major tributaries and I can’t begin to tell the stories I have from
traveling the three mile stretch of river from my house to the first downstream
bridge. I have heard it said you never travel the same river twice. Certainly
rivers are dynamic and always changing but the real pleasure I get while
on these waters is the ever changing mix of scenery and wildlife. Chance
encounters coupled with seasonal migrations, landscape changes and changes
in foliage make for one of the richest environments I have encountered
in my life.
I think there was a sense of urgency back in the days when Arnie Carlson
was governor but I don’t feel this is the case any longer. I think
most Minnesotans know the river is impaired but do not know the degree
of the impairments. With all the changes that have occurred to the environment
in the south central and southwestern parts of the state there is not
much left to draw people to these regions. If people don’t travel
to or spend time in a region they may be unaware of problems that exist
or they may assume that existing problems are being addressed and dealt
with. With statewide focus on Lake Pepin’s water quality impairments
and the Minnesota River being the primary source of some of these pollutants
perhaps attention will once again focus on the Minnesota River and its
tributaries.
My biggest challenge in protecting and improving water quality is to project
the data we collect in honest, informative, educational, nonthreatening
formats. The data we have collected has shown water quality improvements
in some watersheds and has shown the opposite in others. While we have
generally documented reductions in sediment and phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen
concentrations are increasing in our rivers. My greatest challenge is
to make sure the data we collect is done in a rigorous scientific manner
and is as accurate as possible for our given level of funding.
I don’t know if my specific actions have affected water quality
in any way but I can definitively state the cumulative impact of those
working toward this end have made a difference.
Summit
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Minnesota River Basin Data Center
Minnesota State University, Mankato Water Resources Center
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Email: mrbdc@mnsu.edu