Final Lac Qui Parle River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Watershed August 2021 Lac qui Parle River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy Report Authors Timothy Erickson, P.E., Houston Engineering, Inc. Scott Kronholm, PhD, Houston Engineering, Inc. Lori Han, PhD, Houston Engineering, Inc. Contributors/acknowledgements Katherine Pekarek-Scott, MPCA Scott MacLean, MPCA Marco Graziani, MPCA Anna Bosch, MPCA Kelli Nerem, MPCA Chuck Regan, MPCA Ian Ackman, MPCA Ryan Bjerke, DNR WRAPS Local Work Group Lac qui Parle – Yellow Bank Watershed District Yellow Medicine County SWCD Mitch Enderson Brooke Buysse Mark Hiles Trudy Hastad Kurt Johnson Jason Beckler Jared Roiland Anita Borg Darrel Ellefson Brayden Anderson Minnesota Department of Dave Craigmile Tyler Knutson Natural Resources David Ludvigson Jon Lore John Cornell Yellow Medicine County Ryan Bjerke Michael Frank Christopher Balfany Brady Swanson Jolene Johnson Brooke Hacker Lac qui Parle County Taralee Latozke Deron Brehmer Lincoln County SWCD Jenny Breberg Dale Sterzinger National Resources John Maatz Colleen Wichern Conservation Service Jacob Harrison Burton Hendrickson Lac qui Parle County SWCD Rhyan Schicker Board of Water and Soil U.S. Fish and Wildlife Quintin Peterson Resources Stephanie Bishir Chessa Frahm Douglas Goodrich Cover photo credit: Lac qui Parle River MPCA webpage https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/watersheds/lac-qui-parle-river The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs by using the Internet to distribute reports and information to a wider audience. Visit our website for more information. The MPCA reports are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper manufactured without chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Those with disabilities limiting their ability to access report information may contact the MPCA Watershed Project Manager to provide alternate formats that suit their needs. Document number: wq-ws4-74a Contents 1. Watershed background and description ....................................................................................... 9 1.1 Watershed Approach and WRAPS ..................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Watershed Description .................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Environmental Justice ...................................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Assessing Water Quality ................................................................................................................... 13 2. Watershed conditions ................................................................................................................ 18 2.1 Condition status ............................................................................................................................... 20 2.2 Water quality trends ........................................................................................................................ 41 2.3 Identified Pollutants and Stressors .................................................................................................. 42 2.4 TMDL summary .............................................................................................................................. 100 2.5 Protection considerations .............................................................................................................. 102 3. Prioritizing and implementing restoration and protection ........................................................ 106 3.1 Targeting of geographic areas ........................................................................................................ 107 3.2 Public participation ........................................................................................................................ 125 3.3 Restoration and protection strategies ........................................................................................... 128 4. References ............................................................................................................................... 146 5. Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 152 Appendix 5.1 TMDL Tables ....................................................................................................................... 152 Appendix 5.2 Altered Hydrology Analysis ................................................................................................ 167 Appendix 5.3. HSPF-SAM Scenarios ......................................................................................................... 187 Appendix 5.4. Existing BMPs .................................................................................................................... 191 Appendix 5.5. Public Participation ........................................................................................................... 192 Appendix 5.6. ET Rate Data & Calculation ............................................................................................... 196 Appendix 5.7. Prioritization and Restoration Classification Table ........................................................... 197 Table of Figures Figure 1. The Lac qui Parle River Watershed location. ............................................................................... 11 Figure 2. Elevation of the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. .......................................................................... 12 Figure 3. The process for identifying pollutants and stressors, which is a different process for each. ...... 15 Figure 4. Monitoring locations in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ....................................................... 17 Figure 5. Assessment status of lakes and streams in Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ............................... 19 Figure 6. Assessments of streams in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. .................................................. 20 Figure 7. Overall breakdown of nonpoint source vs. point source pollution in Lac qui Parle River Watershed, based on the HSPF model results. ........................................................................................... 25 Figure 8. CAFOs and animal units in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ................................................... 28 Figure 9. Land use in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ........................................................................... 29 Lac qui Parle River WRAPS Report Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 1 Figure 10. Marschner’s pre-European settlement vegetation for the Lac qui Parle River Watershed (DNR 1994). .......................................................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 11. Cropping history in Deuel and Lac qui Parle Counties from 1921-2015 (DNR 2019). ............... 31 Figure 12. The timing of ET rates by crop type. .......................................................................................... 31 Figure 13. SSTS compliance in 2016 for each county in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ..................... 33 Figure 14. Altered watercourses in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. .................................................... 35 Figure 15. Loss of habitat as a stressor, status of streams in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ............. 44 Figure 16. Phosphorus assessment and stressor identification status of streams in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. .................................................................................................................................................. 48 Figure 17. A statewide perspective of phosphorus flow weighted mean concentration for the Lac qui Parle River Watershed using WPLMN monitoring data. ............................................................................. 50 Figure 18. Annual facility total phosphorus load. ....................................................................................... 51 Figure 19. Phosphorus source assessment in the Lac qui Parle River at the outlet of the watershed, based on HSPF model results. ............................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 20. Average annual flow-weighted mean concentrations of TP in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed based on the HSPF model results. ............................................................................................ 52 Figure 21. Total Phosphorus reduction goals in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. ................................. 54 Figure 22. Flow alteration as a stressor status of biologically impaired streams in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed. .................................................................................................................................................. 56 Figure 23. Flow duration curve. .................................................................................................................. 59 Figure 24. Average monthly flow volumes. ................................................................................................ 59 Figure 25. Average monthly flow distribution. ........................................................................................... 60 Figure 26. Annual precipitation trends in the Lac qui Parle River Watershed, based on the South Dakota Climate Division 3 (DNR 2019).