6.3. SR 10-15-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elk River Watershed 2018 Activities Report Elk River Watershed Activities Sherburne SWCD regularly directs initiatives and participates in partnerships that result in the monitoring and restoration of the Elk River Watershed, as well as other areas in Sherburne County. The activities consist of efforts to quantify pollution parameters and address natural resources concerns with private property owners as well as public entities such as townships, cities, Sherburne County as well as other local and state governmental units. The bulleted lists that follow summarize efforts by the SWCD and of partner organizations. Water Quality and Quantity Monitoring Lakes SWCD actively recruits volunteers for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) Citizen Lake Monitoring Program. Volunteers are trained to collect clarity measurements and water quality samples from lakes. Data is housed by MPCA on easily accessible online websites. Currently 12 county lakes regularly monitor either water clarity, water quality or both. Streams The SWCD also recruits stream monitoring volunteers. Currently volunteers monitor 12 locations along the Elk River, St. Francis River and Battle Brook for water clarity. 5 locations are monitored along the Elk River, St. Francis River and Mayhew Creek in Benton County as well. All locations are within the Elk River Watershed. The SWCD participates in the MPCA’s Watershed Pollution Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) which aims to quantify pollution and water quantity in select watersheds across the state. The Elk River gauging site is located where the river crosses Cty Rd 15. Water levels are continuously monitored by remote equipment and water chemistry samples are collected on a regular basis. th Currently the program is in its 5 year and data is insufficient to determine if any trends exist. This data indicates that the river transports: o 140,000 to 213,000 acre-feet of water volume (280 to 420 cubic feet per second, continuously) o 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of phosphorus (nutrient that spurs plant / algae growth) o 3 to 7 million pounds of sediment SWCD staff has monitored the river for bacteria content since 2012. The state chronic standard for bacteria (Escherichia coli, “e.coli”) is 126 MPN/100mL. In 2012, 29 of 36 samples collected from the river exceeded this standard. However, since then the number of exceedances has steadily decreased in what might be considered a downward trend towards better water quality (Figure 2). For example, in 2017 only 4 of 24 samples exceeded the chronic standard limit. Also in 2017, the Sherburne and Stearns SWCD, City of Elk River, and University of Minnesota teamed up to analyze water samples for genetic content. During two sampling visits, samples came back as positive for human content and cows and at the Lake Orono beach birds as well. The study was small but provides some insight as to where the bacteria in the Elk River are originating from. 6