Vermilion River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report
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Watershed health July 2018 Vermilion River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report Authors MPCA Vermilion River Watershed Report Team: The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs Karsten Klimek, Scott Niemela, Pam Anderson, by using the Internet to distribute reports and Nathan Sather, Jesse Anderson, Amy Mustonen, information to wider audience. Visit our Jeff Jasperson, Michael Bourdaghs, Bruce website for more information. Monson, Shawn Nelson, Sophia Vaughan, Stacia MPCA reports are printed on 100% post- Grayson, Dave Christopherson, James Jahnz, consumer recycled content paper Tom Schaub manufactured without chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Contributors/acknowledgements Citizen Stream Monitoring Program Volunteers Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Department of Agriculture Sportsmen’s Club of Lake Vermilion Project dollars provided by the Clean Water Fund (from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment). Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 520 Lafayette Road North | Saint Paul, MN 55155-4194 | 651-296-6300 | 800-657-3864 | Or use your preferred relay service. | [email protected] This report is available in alternative formats upon request, and online at www.pca.state.mn.us. Document number: wq-ws3-09030002b Contents List of acronyms ........................................................................................................................ v Executive summary ................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2 The watershed monitoring approach.......................................................................................................................... 3 Assessment methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Watershed overview....................................................................................................................................................12 Watershed-wide data collection methodology .......................................................................................................31 Individual aggregated 12-HUC subwatershed results ....................................................................35 Aggregated 12-HUC subwatersheds..........................................................................................................................35 Sand River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000201-03 ........................................................36 Pike River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000201-01 ........................................................40 East and West Two Rivers Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000202-03........................................................43 Vermilion Lake Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000202-01 ........................................................48 Trout Lake Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000202-02 ........................................................53 Upper Vermilion River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000205-02 ........................................................55 Elbow River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000203-02........................................................60 Pelican River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000203-01 ........................................................64 Echo River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000204-01 ........................................................70 Lower Vermilion River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0903000205-01 ........................................................74 Watershed-wide results and discussion ......................................................................................78 Stream water quality ...................................................................................................................................................78 Fish contaminant results .............................................................................................................................................79 Pollutant load monitoring ...........................................................................................................................................90 Groundwater monitoring ............................................................................................................................................94 Wetland condition........................................................................................................................................................95 Transparency trends for the Vermilion River Watershed ................................................................................... 102 Remote sensing for lakes in the Vermilion River Watershed ............................................................................. 102 Priority Waters for Protection and Restoration in the Vermilion River Watershed ....................................... 104 Summaries and recommendations ........................................................................................... 105 Groundwater quality and quantity ......................................................................................................................... 105 Literature cited ...................................................................................................................... 106 Appendix 1 – Water chemistry definitions ............................................................................................................ 109 Appendix 2.1 – Intensive watershed monitoring water chemistry stations in the Vermilion Waters hed .. 110 Appendix 2.2 – Intensive watershed monitoring biological monitoring stations in the Vermilion River Watershed .................................................................................................................................................................. 111 Appendix 3.1 – Minnesota statewide IBI thresholds and confidence limits .................................................... 113 Appendix 3.2 – Biological monitoring results – fish IBI (assessable reaches) .................................................. 114 Appendix 3.3 – Biological monitoring results-macroinvertebrate IBI (assessable reaches) .......................... 116 Appendix 4.1 – Fish species found during biological monitoring surveys ........................................................ 118 Appendix 4.2 – Macroinvertebrate species found during biological monitoring surveys.............................. 119 Appendix 5 – Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment results............................................................................ 125 Appendix 6 – Lake protection and prioritization results ..................................................................................... 127 I Figures Figure 1. The intensive watershed monitoring design. ................................................................................................. 4 Figure 2. Intensive watershed monitoring sites for streams in the Vermilion River Watershed............................ 5 Figure 3. Monitoring locations of local groups, citizens and the MPCA lake monitoring staff in the Vermilion River Watershed. ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Figure 4. Flowchart of aquatic life use assessment process. ......................................................................................11 Figure 5. The Vermilion River Watershed within the Northern Lakes and Forests ecoregion of NE Minnesota. ..............................................................................................................................................................................................12 Figure 6. Land use in the Vermilion River Watershed. ................................................................................................14 Figure 7. Map of percent modified streams by major watershed (8-HUC). .............................................................16 Figure 8. Comparison of natural to altered streams in the Vermilion River Watershed (percentages derived from the Statewide Altered Water Course project).....................................................................................................17 Figure 9. Statewide precipitation total (left) and precipitation departure (right) during 2015 (Source: DNR State Climatology Office, 2016). .....................................................................................................................................18 Figure 10. Precipitation trends in Northeast Minnesota (1996-2015) with five-year running average (Source: WRCC, 2017). .....................................................................................................................................................................18 Figure 11. Precipitation trends in Northwest Minnesota (1916-2015) with ten-year running average (Source: WRCC, 2017). .....................................................................................................................................................................19 Figure 12. Quaternary geology within the Vermilion River Watershed (GIS Source: Hobbs & Goebel, 1982; Morey & Meints, 2000). ...................................................................................................................................................20