Introduction
Water is one of our most valuable resource and also of the most misunderstood. Rivers, lakes, wetlands and other waterbodies provide recreation opportunities,
wildlife habitat and functions as the landscape's drainage network. We also look to both surface water and groundwater for our drinking water, whether we live in a community or rural area.

Water touches the past, present, and the future. It covers 70 percent of the Earth's
surface, comprising nearly three-fourths of the human body, and contacts and
sustains Earth's systems. Earth's water supply is finite, this is the same water that has been moving over, on, and under the surface for thousands of years. Water is used by all members of a community. Because water is important to all water users, as demands for this limitless resource increases, the need to conserve and manage supplies also grows.

High Island Creek Watershed is located in one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. As a result water resources have suffered from extensive drainage and intensive cropping practices, along with stormwater and septic system issues.

Water quality Concerns:
In 2000, a diagnostic study was initiated by a large group of partners to look at a number of water quality parameters including:

Bacteria and other pathogens make river water unsafe for drinking and activities that involve body contact. These organisms may contain pathogens, which can cause disease.

Sedimentation restricts the areas where fish can spawn, limits biological diversity and keeps river water cloudy, reducing the growth of healthy plant life rooted in river beds.

Phosphorus pollution triggers the growth of excessive algae. This can severely impact water bodies, especially during times of low flow, in slow-flowing areas such as reservoirs and the lower reaches of the Minnesota River. Excessive algae can severely deplete the supply of oxygen in the river, endangering fish and other kinds of aquatic life.

Nitrate-Nitrogen leads to concerns for both aquifers (for drinking water) and the hypoxia zone in the Gulf of Mexico, This pollutant stimulates the growth of algae which, through death and decay, consume large amounts of dissolved oxygen and thereby threaten aquatic life.

Hydrologic Modification, in addition to water quality, water quantity is also a major concern. Excessive drainage limits the beneficial uses of rivers and streams, including those in the Minnesota River Basin.

Downstream Impacts, once water flows downstream it continues to impact other areas including the Mississippi River, Lake Pepin and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. Remember, someone is always being impacted by others upstream of them.

Text courtesy of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
www.pca.state.mn.us/water/basins/mnriver