Monitoring HistoryState and federal agencies have collected water quality data at various locations and at various times throughout the Minnesota River Basin over the past thirty years. The most comprehensive study of water quality in the Minnesota River Basin, the 1994 Minnesota River Assessment Project (MRAP), concluded that the Minnesota River is impaired by excessive levels of nutrients and sediment. Since 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 nonpoint source pollution, thereby improving the overall health of the Minnesota River. Monitoring is performed by local watershed projects (supported by Clean Water Partnership grants administered by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) as well as state and federal agencies. Much of the monitoring data is provided through monitoring programs of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES), with contributions from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the Minnesota State Climatology Office. Selected Monitoring Organizations and AgenciesExample of organizations and agencies that contributed water quality monitoring data for the State of the Minnesota River: Water Quality Monitoring Reports.Brown-Nicollet-Cottonwood Water Quality Board Chippewa River Watershed Project Hawk Creek Watershed Project High Island Creek Watershed Assessment Project Lac qui Parle-Yellow Bank Watershed Project Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area Yellow Medicine River Watershed Martin County Environmental Services Carver County Environmental Services Minnesota Department of Agriculture Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Minnesota Pollution Control Agency United States Geological Survey Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota State Climatology Office |
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This page was last updated 4/15/11 |
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