Fecal Coliform TMDL Assessment for High Island Creek and Rush River

The High Island Creek and Rush River watersheds are located in the Lower Minnesota River watershed, in south central Minnesota.  The 2008 303(d) impaired waters lists developed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) inlucdes reaches of High Island Creek and Rush River.  Water quality monitoring indicates these stream reaches fail to meet the standard for human contact due to excessive amounts of fecal coliform bacteria.  The Minnesota State Unversity, Mankato Water Resources Center prepared a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report documenting the impairments.  Fecal coliform pollution in the High Island Creek and Rush River watersheds results from a combination of several sources including manure application, straight pipe septic systems, wildlife, re-suspension of contaminated sediments and feedlot runoff.  Of these sources, runoff of land applied manure during high flows, straight pipe septics during low flows and re-suspension of sediments during high and low flows appear to be the primary contributors of fecal coliform bacteria.