DRAFT WRAPS for Duluth Urban-Area
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Draft Duluth Urban Area Watershed Restoration and Protection March 2018 wq-ws4-42a Project Partners Primary Authors Brian Fredrickson, MPCA Tom Estabrooks, MPCA Jennifer Olson, Tetra Tech Andrea Plevan, Tetra Tech Ryan Birkemeier, Tetra Tech Kaitlyn Taylor, Tetra Tech Scott Job, Tetra Tech Sam Sarkar, Tetra Tech Project Contributors The following organizations and individuals participated in meetings, assisted with data, and provided valuable insight to the Duluth Urban Area WRAPS: · Arrowhead Regional Development Commission – Justin Otsea · City of Duluth – Todd Carlson, Tom Johnson · Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Kari Hedin · Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources – Jeff Hrubes, Erin Loeffler · Minnesota Department of Agriculture – Heidi Peterson, Margaret Wagner · Minnesota Department of Health – Cindy Hakala, Chris Parthun · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources – Cliff Bentley, Patricia Fowler, Deserae Hendrickson, Anna Hess, John Jereczek, Karl Koller, Taylor Nelson, Ben Nicklay, Dean Paron, Mike Young · Minnesota Department of Transportation – Matt Meyer · Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – Pat Carey, Tom Estabrooks, Stacia Grayson, Jeff Jasperson, Jenny Jasperson, Greg Johnson, Steve Labuz, Caroline McFadden, Nathan Mielke, Tom Schaub, Laura Solem, Brittany Story, Mike Trojan, Jeff Udd, Angus Vaughn · South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District – Tim Beaster, Kate Kubiak, Ann Thompson · University of Minnesota – Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute – Rich Axler, Jerry Henneck, Tiffany Sprague · University of Minnesota Duluth, Water Resources Graduate Program – Erik Bye · University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program – Jesse Schomberg · U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – Tom Hollenhorst · Western Lake Superior Sanitary District – Joe Mayasich In addition, the Duluth Urban Watershed Advisory Committee provided input. Members of the Committee include: Name Representing Nels Anderson City of Hermantown Carol Andrews St. Louis County Greg Andrews City of Rice Lake Rich Axler UMD-NRRI David Bolf City of Hermantown Jennifer Crown City of Proctor Mark Casey City of Proctor Todd Carlson City of Duluth Andrea Crouse City of Superior Brian Fredrickson MPCA-Duluth Grant Forsyth Midway Township Patty Fowler MN DNR Bill Gerard Thomson Township Kimberly Grubb Normanna Township Desae Hendrickson MN DNR Fisheries Suzanne Herstad City of Rice Lake Terry Hill Thomson Township Joan Jauss City of Rice Lake Eric Johnson City of Hermantown Tom Johnson City of Duluth Kate Kubiak South St. Louis SWCD Erik Larson UMD Facilities Management Matt Meyer MnDOT Jon Nelson Gnesen Township Jesse Schomberg MN Sea Grant (Facilitator) Eric Shaffer City of Duluth Tiffany Sprague UMD-NRRI (Facilitator) Margaret Taylor Midway Township Bob Wolfe Lakewood Township Table of Contents Project Partners ........................................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... i Tables ........................................................................................................................................................ ii Figures ...................................................................................................................................................... iii Key Terms .................................................................................................................................................. v Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. vi What is the WRAPS Report? ................................................................................................................... vii 1. Watershed Background and Description .............................................................................................. 1 2. Watershed Conditions ........................................................................................................................ 10 Condition Status .......................................................................................................................... 10 Streams ............................................................................................................................................... 12 Beaches ............................................................................................................................................... 17 Lakes.................................................................................................................................................... 19 Water Quality Trends .................................................................................................................. 19 Streams ............................................................................................................................................... 19 Beaches ............................................................................................................................................... 21 Stressors and Sources ................................................................................................................. 24 Pollutant Sources ................................................................................................................................ 24 TMDL Summary ........................................................................................................................... 37 Protection Considerations .......................................................................................................... 38 Stream Biological Integrity .................................................................................................................. 40 Water Chemistry ................................................................................................................................. 40 In-Stream Temperature Sensitivity to Climate Change ...................................................................... 43 Development Pressures ...................................................................................................................... 46 DRAFT Duluth Urban Area WRAPS Report i Potential Impacts to Lake Superior ..................................................................................................... 46 3. Prioritizing and Implementing Restoration and Protection ................................................................ 48 Targeted Geographic Areas ........................................................................................................ 48 Civic Engagement ........................................................................................................................ 50 Accomplishments and Future Plans .................................................................................................... 50 WRAPS Development .......................................................................................................................... 51 Public Notice for Comments ............................................................................................................... 52 Restoration and Protection Strategies ........................................................................................ 52 4. Monitoring Plan .................................................................................................................................. 83 Existing Monitoring ............................................................................................................................. 83 Monitoring Needs ............................................................................................................................... 83 5. References and Further Information .................................................................................................. 85 Appendix A – TMDL Summaries .................................................................................................................. 87 Total Suspended Solids ....................................................................................................................... 87 E. coli ................................................................................................................................................... 92 Water Temperature (Heat) ................................................................................................................. 99 Appendix B – Duluth Urban Streams – An Implementation Focused Assessment of Six Streams ........... 100 Tables Table 1. Land use/land cover summary ........................................................................................................ 4 Table 2. Assessment status of streams (MPCA 2013, MPCA 2014) ............................................................ 13 Table 3. E. coli impaired beaches ................................................................................................................ 19 Table 4. Lake assessment status ................................................................................................................. 19 Table 5. Lester River water quality trends .................................................................................................. 20 Table 6. Summary of probable stressors to