Minnesota River Basin Water Quality Improvement Grant Projects
In 1997, the Minnesota State Legislature approved funding of $475,000 for the implementation of 15 water quality improvement projects in the Minnesota River Basin. The 15 water quality improvement projects have costs totaling $1,359,887.
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1 Making the Minnesota River Swimmable
Project Sponsor: Blue Earth River Basin Initiative (BERBI) Linda Meschke
Project Location: Blue Earth, Watonwan, and Le Sueur River Major Watersheds
Anticipated Results: 10 Landowners will bring their individual sewage treatment system (ISTS) into compliance. This will bring 28 of the 32 ISTSs in the Beauford watershed into compliance.
Total Project Cost: $212,500
MRBWQI Grant: $25,000
Project Status: Six of the 10 have been installed. The other 4 are presently being worked on.
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2 Practical Streambank Stabilization Project
Project Sponsor: Blue Earth River Basin Initiative (BERBI) - Linda Meschke
Project Location: Blue Earth, Watonwan, and Le Sueur River Major Watersheds
Anticipated Results: Demonstration sites for a variety of streambank stabilization practices have been designed and include techniques such as vegetative fashines, willow cuttings, cedar bundles, dogwood plantings, silver maple bundles, rip rapping, tree butts, vegetative planting, wing dams and bank sloping. Each site will include upland treatment Best Management Practices along with the project. Stabilization and cost effectiveness of various materials will be tracked for 25 different sites.
Total Project Cost: $212,500
MRBWQI Grant: $44, 087
Project Status: Complete
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3 Harvestland Cooperative Agchemical Facility Relocation
Project Sponsor: Brown County Jane Starz
Project Location: Cottonwood River Watershed
Anticipated Results: This project will relocate an existing facility that is discharging polluted storm and surface water to the Cottonwood River.
Total Project Cost: $252,489
MRBWQI Grant: $20,000
Project Status: Completed. A chemical containment structure has been built on a new location with grant and BMP loan money. With the agri-chemical facility relocated and redesigned, minimal or no discharge of stormwater or surface water from the facility will reach the Cottonwood River.
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4 Grade Stabilization Structure (Martin Luther College)
Project Sponsor: Brown SWCD Tom Maher
Project Location: Cottonwood River Watershed
Anticipated Results: This project will prevent further damage to property, gully erosion, and sediment delivery to the Cottonwood River. The project is adjacent to and impacts Flandrau State Park.
Total Project Cost: $14,060
MRBWQI Grant: $7,030
Project Status: The project owner is currently seeking additional bids for construction. The first and only bid thus far was for $29,000.
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5 Bioengineering for Sediment Reduction
Project Sponsor: Carver Soil and Water Conservation District - Tim Gieseke
Project Location: Carver County; Lower Minnesota River Major Watershed
Anticipated Results: Reduction of sediment and phosphorus from entering Carver, Bevens, and Spring creeks, which flow to the Minnesota River. Stabilization of approximately 1,600 feet of streambank. The unique element of this project is the type of bioengineering practices that are used to protect and stabilize these streambanks, as well as the affordability. By using red cedar trees, which are an abundant local resource; the Minnesota Riverway Conservation Corps, 8th graders from Chaska Middle School and the Carver-Scott Sentence-to-Serve, which are an affordable labor source; and working with local contractors, many more reaches of streams were protected and enhanced than would have been possible with traditional rock rip-rap methods.
Total Project Cost: $47,025
MRBWQI Grant: $15, 337
Project Status: Complete
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6 Permanent Grass Buffer Strips and Structure
Project Sponsor: Douglas County Ditch Authority for CD 3 & 4-16 Tom E. Anderson
Project Location: Ditch banks along County Ditches 3 & 4-16 in the upper reaches of the Chippewa River Watershed.
Anticipated Results: Reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients entering the ditches and the waters of the Chippewa River from agricultural lands along these ditches. With repairs being requested on both these ditches, the creation of a permanent grass buffer strip along both sides of the ditches will help stabilize existing ditch banks and move farming activities off the ditch edge. Making them a permanent feature provides uninterrupted water quality protection. The proposed project is to create as much permanent buffer as possible along both ditches given the funding provided. The easements covering the buffer strips will be recorded but will not open the areas to the public. They will not be public easements for public use.
Total Project Cost: $36,000
MRBWQI Grant: $18,000
Project Status: Ditch #3 has a structure and it will be completed by December of 1999.
Ditch 4-16: Landowner acceptance obtained, easements being drafted and recorded in the winter of 2000, establishment of buffer strips being incorporated into the repair project scheduled for spring and summer of 2000.
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7 Willmar High School Control Structure
Project Sponsor: Kandiyohi County Soil and Water Conservation District Rick Reimer
Project Location: Willmar High School; Hawk Creek Major Watershed
Anticipated Results: Replacement of failing water control structure. The new structure will add significant value to the existing wetlands and improve the downstream water quality to Willmar Lake. The structure will help downstream erosion as well as stabilizing the area. Since it is already used as an outdoor classroom, it is ideal for being used as a demonstration site, both for the public and within the education program at the high school. This project is also involving the Willmar High School Science and Environment classes who are sampling and gathering data and generating reports on the results.
Total Project Cost: $14,700
MRBWQI Grant: $5,000
Project Status: Complete
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8 St. George Constructed Wetland
Project Sponsor: Nicollet County Environmental Services Tina Rosenstein
Project Location: West Newton Township, Nicollet County; Middle Minnesota River Major Watershed
Anticipated Results: A Constructed Wetland System is being designed for the residents of St. George where 93% of residents' Individual Sewage Treatment Systems (ISTS) are classified as "failing", according to standards set by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The overall cost efficiency of the project combined with the capacity for handling additional growth within the St. George Community makes the wetland system the preferred method for all persons concerned with preventing further groundwater contamination.
Total Project Cost: $242,850
MRBWQI Grant: $115,000
Project Status: North American Wetlands Engineering (NAWE), a Minnesota-based company, will wrap up the design process by the end of 1999. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2000. Final project costs have been determined after periodic meetings with the West Newton Township Board and the St. George Environmental Subordinate Service District (ESSD).
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9 County Landfill Voluntary Water Quality Improvement Project
Project Sponsor: Renville County Douglas Knutson
Project Location: Hawk Creek-Yellow Medicine River Major Watershed
Anticipated Results: Earth Tech's natural resource professionals are currently developing the conceptual design for the Renville County Landfill Water Quality Improvement Project. Research has been conducted on phytoremediation technologies and environmental projects with similar objectives. Surface water and groundwater flow, watershed characteristics, groundwater chemistry, and other existing site conditions have been analyzed. Synthesis of pertinent research and site-specific conditions will allow the design of constructed wetlands and associated uplands that are anticipated to reduce groundwater impacts currently reaching West Fork Beaver Creek while enhancing wildlife habitat.
Total Project Cost: $87,000
MRBWQI Grant: $11,074
Project Status: Described above
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10 Streambank Stabilization Plan
Project Sponsor: Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District Peter Beckius
Project Location: City of Savage, Lexington Place Development, Credit River; Lower Minnesota River Major Watershed
Anticipated Results: A plan outlining the items required to construct improvements to the streambanks of the Credit River and the construction of storm water facilities along a tributary stream to the credit River. The area for proposed improvements is between the Lexington Place and Lexington Place Second Developments, where storm sewer from the surrounding residential area has been directed down a natural ravine, which is a tributary to the Credit River. The project is necessary for the safety of area residents and the protection of private property. This is a high priority project for reducing erosion and sedimentation in the Minnesota River. The problem should be corrected by containing the discharge within a large pipe or by lining the entire channel with riprap or natural material.
Total Project Cost: $165,000
MRBWQI Grant: $78,500
Project Status: Complete
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11 Voss Salvage Yard Cleanup
Project Sponsor: Scott County Peter Schmitt
Project Location: Lower Minnesota River Watershed Belle Plaine
Anticipated Results: This project will remove solid and containerized liquid waste and restore the property for recreational use or wetland and natural areas under DNR management. This project has been coordinated with local citizens and city officials, private businesses, existing river advocacy groups as well as Scott County, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Total Project Cost: $100,000
MRBWQI Grant: $49,609
Project Status: Cleanup underway. Very close to being done. Completion is expected by December of 1999. Over 700 Tons of salvage yard debris has been removed from the Minnesota River floodplain near Belle Plaine. Information about the history and cleanup of the salvage yard can be found on the Scott County Internet Web Site - Minnesota River Valley Cleanup Challenge 99.
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12 Sand Creek Streambank and Channel Restoration and Improvement Project
Project Sponsor: Scott County Public Works and Lands Scott Allen
Project Location: Sand Creek channel bed and streambank within the City of Jordan; Lower Minnesota River Watershed.
Anticipated Results: Streambank and channel stabilization work on Sand Creek with the City of Jordan. Work will be on the mainstem of Sand Creek directly upstream of the Minnesota River. The Scott SWCD will provide technical oversight on this project. SWCD responsibilities include: survey, design, construction supervision and certification of the practice. The City of Jordan completed streambed restoration in the Spring of 1999 at the project location.
Total Project Cost: $50,000
MRBWQI Grant: $25,000
Project Status: Planning underway with construction planned for spring of 2000, pending good weather and contractor availability.
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13 JD 19 Streambank Maintenance (Chippewa River)
Project Sponsor: Swift County Michael Johnson
Project Location: Chippewa River Watershed
Anticipated Results: This project is anticipated to stop continual side slope erosion and reduce downstream sedimentation of the Chippewa River.
Total Project Cost: $22,900
MRBWQI Grant: $11,450
Project Status: Engineering and construction have been completed. Construction includes reshaping and rock armament at the toe of the slope in the channel. Willow cuttings have been taken and will be planted in April or May of 2000. Overall completion of the project is estimated for June of 2000.
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14 Small Scale Water Retention Demonstration
Project Sponsor: BERBI Group, Watonwan SWCD - Dan Girolamo
Project Location: Section 9, Butterfield Township, Watonwan County; Watonwan River Major Watershed
Anticipated Results: Cropland runoff and subsurface tile water will be temporarily stored and routed through a wet basin constructed adjacent to a private drainage ditch. The storage site will have a "wet pool" of approximately 1.5 Acres with the flooded pool covering approximately 3.0 acres. The temporary storage will allow the runoff from this 20-acre drainage to meter into the creek after the hydrograph has reached its peak nutrient levels. The area will be vegetated to promote wetland plant communities and native cover on the adjoining upland acres. The project has approved engineering plans and construction will follow after the landowner and BWSR approves the funding strategy.
Total Project Cost: $10,000
MRBWQI Grant: $4,000
Project Status: Pending landowner approval.
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15 Small Scale Sediment Control Program
Project Sponsor: Watonwan Soil and Water Conservation District Dan Girolamo
Project Location: Various Sites located within Watonwan County and the Watonwan River Major Watershed.
Anticipated Results: Cropland runoff water will be temporarily stored and released from dry basins constructed to rivers, streams and drainage ditches. The sites will have temporary storage that will slow runoff water to allow cropland sediments to settle out.
Total Project Cost: $20,000
MRBWQI Grant: $10,000
Project Status: Currently, two (2) landowners have shown interest in constructing practices necessary to effectively trap sediments. Both sites have preliminary plans and are ready to be constructed.
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