State of the Minnesota River:
Summary of Surface Water Quality
Monitoring 2002


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The purpose of the 2002 State of the Minnesota River Report is to consolidate surface water quality monitoring information collected in the Minnesota River Basin for calendar years 2000 - 2002. This summary report assembles data collected by multiple agencies and organizations and presents the data in a fashion that allows for relative water quality comparisons between the mainstem Minnesota River sites, as well as between the major and minor tributaries in the Minnesota River Basin.

The 2000 State of the Minnesota River Report was published in March 2002 and presented results for monitoring year 2000. The second report was released in March 2003, and presented results for monitoring year 2000 and 2001. The 2002 report presents 2002 monitoring data and compares it with much of the 2000 and 2001, data along with a few additions and some minor corrections. The data and information presented in this report was gathered at twenty-eight surface water quality monitoring stations, located throughout the Minnesota River Basin.

Preparation of this report is a joint venture of the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES), Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and the Water Resources Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Greg Payne, hydrologist, joined the group this year and examined the data, provided in-depth analysis, and wrote major sections of the report. This report helps fulfill the overall mission of the Minnesota River Basin Data Center, which is to inventory, develop, retrieve, interpret, and disseminate information on topics that impact the environment, economy and communities within the Minnesota River Basin. This mission was articulated first by the Minnesota River Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) in a series of recommendations to the MPCA (MPCA, 1994), and later by the Minnesota River Basin Joint Powers Board (MRBJPB). This report demonstrates that good coordination exists between state and local water quality monitoring agencies in the Minnesota River Basin. The information provided in this report is also consistent with and helps fulfill the “Monitoring Action Strategy” identified in the Minnesota River Basin Plan (MPCA, 2001). The plan was developed with extensive input from researchers and citizens and charts a course for the continued restoration of the Minnesota River. The goal of the Minnesota River Basin Plan is “To restore, protect and maintain the water quality, bio-diversity and the natural beauty of the Minnesota River or to make the Minnesota River fishable and swimmable once again” (MPCA, 2001).

The Minnesota River originates at the Minnesota-South Dakota border, flows for 335 miles through some of the richest agricultural land in Minnesota, and joins the Mississippi River at Minneapolis/St. Paul. The river drains a basin of 16,770 square miles: 14,840 square miles in Minnesota, including all or parts of 37 counties; 1,610 square miles in South Dakota; and 320 square miles in North Dakota and Iowa combined. Minnesota’s portion of the Basin is primarily used for agriculture and represents 18.5% of the state’s land mass and 29% of its cultivated land. As the state’s largest tributary of the Mississippi River, the Minnesota River’s volume increases the Mississippi’s flow by 57% and adds disproportionately to its pollutant load (MPCA, 1997).

The 1994 Minnesota River Assessment Project (MRAP), the most comprehensive study of water quality in the Minnesota River Basin, concluded that the Minnesota River is impaired by excessive nutrient and sediment concentrations (MPCA, 1994). Since the publication of the MRAP report, several organizations throughout the Basin have taken responsibility for collecting additional data to better define tributary characteristics and learn more about how these tributaries affect the condition of the Minnesota River. In many parts of the Basin, this information is used to target implementation practices that reduce non-point source pollution, thereby improving the overall health of the Minnesota River. Local watershed projects are supported mainly by Clean Water Partnership grants administered by the MPCA. Much of the remaining data presented in this summary report is provided through monitoring programs of the MDA and MCES, with contributions from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the Minnesota State Climatology Office.

In recent years, there have been significant improvements in point source pollution control as well as continued adoption of conservation and non-point source best management practices within the Minnesota River Basin. With these changes has come an increasing expectation that the monitoring data being collected will not only be used to identify potential problem areas but can also be used to document and quantify water quality improvements as best management practices are implemented. Recent publications have questioned the costs of implementation activities if the benefits cannot be readily quantified. As such, efforts like this to coordinate and standardize monitoring activities and information are becoming increasingly important to provide a scientifically defensible assessment of water quality responses to changes in land use throughout the Basin.

This report is available on the Minnesota River Basin Data Center web site at http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu to allow wide access and an opportunity to review and comment on its content.

Contributors
Data included in this report were submitted and reviewed by representatives of several organizations including:

The authors would also like to acknowledge the USGS and MDNR for much of the flow data that are utilized throughout this summary report. These agencies are a valuable resource for many organizations throughout the Minnesota River Basin.

To submit comments or questions, please contact:

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This page created on June 16, 2004 .
Minnesota River Basin Data Center
Minnesota State University, Mankato
184 Trafton Science Center S, Mankato, MN 56001
Phone: (507)389-5492   FAX: (507)389-5493
Email: mrbdc@mnsu.edu