Nemadji River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report
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Nemadji River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report November 2014 Authors MPCA Nemadji River Watershed Report Team: The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs Nathan Mielke, Benjamin Lundeen, Scott by using the Internet to distribute reports and Niemela, Jesse Anderson, Dave Christopherson, information to wider audience. Visit our David Duffey, Sophia Vaughan, Bruce Monson, website for more information. Shawn Nelson, Kris Parson, Andrew Streitz, MPCA reports are printed on 100 percent post- Stacia Grayson, Mike Bourdaghs, Karen Evens, consumer recycled content paper Jeff Jasperson, Tom Schaub manufactured without chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Contributors/acknowledgements Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Department of Agriculture AW Research Laboratories Carlton County Soil and Water Conservation District Citizen Stream Monitoring Program Volunteers Carlton County Water Management Program 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 | www.pca.state.mn.us | 651-296-6300 Toll free 800-657-3864 | TTY 651-282-5332 This report is available in alternative formats upon request, and online at www.pca.state.mn.us Document number: wq-ws3-04010301b List of acronyms AUID Assessment Unit Identification MINLEAP Minnesota Lake Eutrophication Determination Analysis Procedure CCSI Channel Condition and Stability Index MLRA Major Land Resource Area CD County Ditch MPCA Minnesota Pollution Control Agency CI Confidence Interval MSHA Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment CLMP Citizen Lake Monitoring Program MTS Meets the Standard? CR County Road N Nitrogen CSAH County State Aid Highway Nitrate-N Nitrate Plus Nitrite Nitrogen CSMP Citizen Stream Monitoring Program NA Not Assessed CWA Clean Water Act NHD National Hydrologic Dataset CWLA Clean Water Legacy Act NH3 Ammonia DO Dissolved Oxygen NLF Northern Lakes and Forest DOP Dissolved Orthophosphate NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service E Eutrophic NS Not Supporting E. coli Escherichia coli NT No Trend EQuIS Environmental Quality Information OP Orthophosphate System P Phosphorous EMAP Environmental Monitoring and PCB Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls Assessment Program PFOS Perfluoroocatanesulfonic Acid or EX Exceeds Criteria (Bacteria) Perfluorooctane Sulfonate EXP Exceeds Criteria, Potential Impairment PWI Protected Waters Inventory EXS Exceeds Criteria, Potential Severe RNR River Nutrient Region Impairment SWAG Surface Water Assessment Grant FS Full Support SWCD Soil and Water Conservation District ETSC Endangered, threatened or special SWUD State Water Use Database concern TALU Tiered Aquatic Life Uses FWMC Flow Weighted Mean Concentration TKN Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen H Hypereutrophic TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load HUC Hydrologic Unit Code TP Total Phosphorous IBI Index of Biotic Integrity TSS Total Suspended Solids IF Insufficient Information TSVS Total Suspended Volatile Solids IWM Intensive Watershed Monitoring USDA United State Department of Agriculture K Potassium EPA United State Environmental Protection LRVW Limited Resource Value Water Agency M Mesotrophic USGS United States Geological Survey MCES Metropolitan Council Environmental VHS Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Services WPLMN Water Pollutant Load Monitoring MDA Minnesota Department of Agriculture Network MDH Minnesota Department of Health WAT Watershed Assessment Team MDNR Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Nemadji River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report • November 2014 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Table of contents List of acronyms .................................................................................................................................1 Table of contents ...............................................................................................................................1 Tables ................................................................................................................................................2 Figures ...............................................................................................................................................3 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................2 I. The watershed monitoring approach ......................................................................................... 3 II. Assessment methodology ......................................................................................................... 7 III. Watershed overview ............................................................................................................... 11 IV. Watershed-wide data collection methodology ......................................................................... 22 V. Individual watershed results ................................................................................................... 26 South Fork Nemadji River Subwatershed HUC 0401030101 .................................................... 28 Upper Nemadji River Subwatershed HUC 0401030102 ........................................................... 35 Black River Subwatershed HUC 0401030103 ......................................................................... 45 Middle Nemadji River Subwatershed HUC 0401030104 ......................................................... 47 VI. Watershed-wide results and discussion ................................................................................... 53 VII. Summary and recommendations ............................................................................................. 76 Literature cited ................................................................................................................................79 Appendix 1 – Water chemistry definitions ........................................................................................... 82 Appendix 2 – Intensive watershed monitoring water chemistry stations in the Nemadji River Watershed ......................................................................................................................................... 84 Appendix 3 – AUID table of stream assessment results (by parameter and beneficial use) .................... 84 Appendix 4 – Assessment results for lakes in the Nemadji River Watershed .......................................... 86 Appendix 5 – Minnesota statewide IBI thresholds and confidence limits............................................... 87 Appendix 6 – Biological monitoring results – fish IBI (assessable reaches) ............................................ 88 Appendix 7 – Biological monitoring results – macroinvertebrate IBI (assessable reaches) ..................... 89 Appendix 8 – Minnesota’s ecoregion-based lake eutrophication standards .......................................... 90 Appendix 9 – MINLEAP model estimates of phosphorus loads for lakes in the Nemadji Watershed ....... 91 Appendix 10 – Fish species encountered during biological monitoring surveys ...................................... 92 Appendix 11 – Macroinvertebrate species encountered during biological monitoring surveys ............... 94 Appendix 12 – Lake Superior basin fish species: endangered, special concern, threatened, and introduced ....................................................................................................................................... 101 Nemadji River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report • November 2014 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Tables Table 1. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: South Fork Nemadji River Subwatershed. ................................................................................................................................. 29 Table 2. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment (MSHA): South Fork Nemadji River Subwatershed. ... 30 Table 3. Channel Condition and Stability Assessment (CCSI): South Fork Nemadji River Subwatershed ..................................................................................................................................30 Table 4. Outlet water chemistry results: South Fork Nemadji River Subwatershed. ............................ 31 Table 5. Lake water aquatic recreation assessments: South Fork Nemadji River Subwatershed. ......... 32 Table 6. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Upper Nemadji River Subwatershed. ................................................................................................................................. 35 Table 7. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment (MSHA): Upper Nemadji River Subwatershed. .......... 37 Table 8. Channel Condition and Stability Assessment (CCSI): Nemadji River Subwatershed. ............... 38 Table 9. Outlet water chemistry results: Upper Nemadji River Subwatershed. ................................... 39 Table 10. Lake water aquatic recreation assessments: Upper Nemadji River Subwatershed. .............. 40 Table 11. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Middle Nemadji River Subwatershed. ................................................................................................................................. 47 Table 12. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment