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Blue Earth River Major Watershed Diagnostic Report

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Blue Earth River Major Watershed Diagnostic Report BLUE EARTH RIVER MAJOR WATERSHED DIAGNOSTIC REPORT BLUE EARTH RIVER BASIN IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK MPCA Clean Water Partnership Project #1943 Project Sponsor South Central Minnesota County Comprehensive Water Planning Project Joint Powers Board Contributing Sponsors Blue Earth County Brown County Cottonwood County Faribault County Freeborn County Jackson County Martin County Watonwan County US Geological Survey City of Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato Prepared by the Water Resources Center Minnesota State University, Mankato October, 2000 BLUE EARTH RIVER MAJOR WATERSHED DIAGNOSTIC REPORT BLUE EARTH RIVER BASIN IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK MPCA Clean Water Partnership Project #1943 Project Sponsor South Central Minnesota County Comprehensive Water Planning Project Joint Powers Board Project Representative Henry Quade, Water Resources Center Minnesota State University, Mankato MPCA Project Manager Tim Larson ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Project Contributors Minnesota Pollution Control Agency MSU Water Resources Center Pat Baskfield Cis Berg Lee Ganske Jeff Hedlund Larry Gunderson Debbie Holmstrom Jim Klang Medea Myhra Tim Larson Dr. Beth Proctor Joe Magner Dr. Henry W. Quade Norman Senjem John Rongstad Bill Thompson Jean Spellacy Greg VanEeckhout United States Geological Survey Abdul Mohammad Greg Payne County Personnel Julie Conrad, Scott Salsbury, Blue Earth County Gary Wehrenberg, Chad Veland, Faribault County Darrin Newville, Martin County MSU Water Resources Center Students Mymique Baxter, Tory Christensen, Scott Doig, Shannon Dokken Matt Drewitz, Brett Ellanson, Tammy Greenwood, Eric Hagler, Craig Jensen Dave Kronlokken, Mark Laborde, Kate Leinen, Eric Volker, Kevin Weaver ______________________________________________________________________________ October, 2000 Acknowledgements The Minnesota State University, Mankato Water Resources Center Staff is indebted to the support and participation of a great number of cooperators for their contributions to the project and to the preparation of this report. The South Central Minnesota County Comprehensive Water Planning Project (SCMCCWPP) Joint Powers Board for their sponsorship of the project and Blue Earth County for acting as fiscal agent. The contributing sponsors: the counties of Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Jackson, Martin and Watonwan, the U.S. Geological Survey, the City of Mankato, and Minnesota State University, Mankato, all made this project possible. County Personnel Julie Conrad and Scott Salsbury of Blue Earth County; Gary Wehrenberg, Chad Veland, Faribault County; Darrin Newville of Martin County for providing necessary tertiary sampling and input. The committee members, especially the watershed team, for their commitment and perseverance throughout the data review process and implementation planning for the watershed. Greg Payne and his assistant Abdul Mohammad, as essential partners in all phases of this project. The individuals and agencies who made significant contributions to the GIS component of the project include: Tim Ogg, Board of Water and Soil Resources; Tim Loesch, MN Department of Natural Resources; Carrie Bartz, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Greg Spoden, Minnesota State Climatology; Dan Kackman, University of Minnesota; Ray Genrich and Doug Miller, Natural Resource Conservation Service; Chris Sanocki, United States Geological Survey; and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (State of Minnesota BaseMap '98). The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, under the lead of Project Manager Tim Larson, with the support of Pat Baskfield, Lee Ganske, Jim Klang, Joe Magner, Norman Senjem and Bill Thompson who provided assistance throughout all phases of the project. We wish to thank Minnesota State University, Mankato for their fiscal, facility and administrative support. This has been an extremely complex, pioneering project. Our level of success at this endeavor is directly related to the efforts and contributions of the partners which includes the above individuals and organizations. ii Executive Summary Diagnostic Study of the Blue Earth River Major Watershed MPCA Clean Water Partnership Project # 1943 Diagnostic Study – Blue Earth River Watershed The purpose of the Blue Earth River Watershed study was to (1) characterize common pollutant levels in the Blue Earth River and selected tributaries; (2) create a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the Blue Earth River watershed to provide spatial natural resources data for each sampling sub watershed, that will serve as a tool for continued planning and management of natural resources in the watershed; and (3) determine the loading of the Blue Earth River to the Greater Blue Earth River Watershed and to the Minnesota River. In 1992, the Minnesota River Assessment Project (MRAP) indicated that sediment is a pollutant of primary concern and recommended a 40 percent reduction in sediment loading. Consequently, the monitoring program and watershed assessment for the Blue Earth River Watershed, which occurred during 1996, focused on the concentration and loading of sediment, as total suspended solids (TSS). A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to develop land use/land cover and physical data (hydrographic, soil, slope, updated land use, feedlots, monitoring sites, sub watersheds); derived layers were created to analyze the 16, 99, and 300 foot riparian zones, locate potentially restorable wetland areas, and to identify highly erodible areas. The Blue Earth River Watershed Team met during 1998 – 2000 to review watershed data, identify priority areas, and develop an implementation plan for improved water quality in the Blue Earth River Watershed. The Blue Earth River Major Watershed is one of the twelve major watersheds of the Minnesota River Basin located in south central Minnesota with a total area of approximately 1,550 square miles or 992,034 acres. Of the 992,034 acres, 775,590 acres are located in Minnesota and 216,444 acres are located in Iowa. Physical and land use data were collected only for the Minnesota area of the watershed; however, land use data were normalized for the Iowa portion of the watershed. The Blue Earth River Watershed is a region of gently rolling prairie and glacial moraine with river valleys and ravines cut into the landscape. As the mainstem of the Blue Earth River flows north-northeast, it is joined by the Watonwan River at 16.3 river miles and by the Le Sueur River at 3.3 river miles from the Blue Earth River’s confluence with the Minnesota River. The watersheds of the Blue Earth, Le Sueur and Watonwan rivers define a sub-basin of the Minnesota River Basin referred to as the Greater Blue Earth River Watershed. The Blue Earth River Major Watershed drainage network is defined by the Blue Earth River and its major tributaries: the East Branch of Blue Earth River, the West Branch of Blue Earth River, the Middle Branch of the Blue Earth River, Elm Creek, and Center Creek. Other smaller streams, public and private drainage systems, lakes, and wetlands complete the drainage network. The total length of the stream network in Minnesota is 1,178 miles of which 414 miles are intermittent streams and 764 miles are perennial streams. Extensive artificial drainage made up of public and private ditch and tile systems facilitate the movement of water throughout the watershed. Pollutants such as nutrients, bacteria and sediment can be transported with the water. Approximately 86 percent of wetlands were lost through drainage. Remaining lakes and wetlands comprise about 2% of the watershed. Predominate land use within the watershed is agriculture, which includes cultivation and feedlot operations. Various land uses as well as areas prone to erosion (steep slopes, unprotected vertical stream banks) are sources of sediment observed in streams. Areas of concern were identified in the riparian zone of the mainstem of the Blue Earth River, Elm Creek, Lily Creek, Willow Creek and Center Creek. The monitoring protocol used the designation of primary, secondary, and tertiary water monitoring sites. More resources (time and parameters) were used on the primary sites and secondary sites than on the tertiary sites. As a result, sediment measured as TSS and levels of turbidity were the only consistent pollutant parameters measured at all sites. These were practical limitations based on the scale and budget of the overall project. The flow and water quality monitoring of the watershed from April to November in 1996 provided concentration, load, and yield estimates of total suspended solids (TSS) and other selected parameters at two iii primary and four secondary monitoring sites. Concentration, load, and yield estimates of TSS and levels of turbidity were determined for 11 tertiary sites. Two sites, BT7 and BT8, were located to analyze water quality and flow data from the majority of the Iowa area. Data reported for the Blue Earth River at Mankato, site BP1, characterized the collective water quality and flow resulting from the Blue Earth, Le Sueur and Watonwan rivers; these data are discussed as part of the Greater Blue Earth River Watershed. Data reported for the Blue Earth River near Good Thunder, site BP2, characterized the watershed before the addition of flow and pollutants from the Le Sueur and Watonwan rivers and is the basis for sub watershed comparisons. Monitoring of the watershed at BP2 estimates total discharge for the monitoring season at 274,954 acre feet. The TSS
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