Winnebago River Watershed Stressor Identification Report a Study of Local Stressors Limiting the Biotic Communities in the Winnebago River Watershed
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Winnebago River Watershed Stressor Identification Report A study of local stressors limiting the biotic communities in the Winnebago River Watershed. September 2017 wq-ws5-07080203a Legislative charge The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs Minn. Stat. § 116.011 Annual Pollution Report by using the Internet to distribute reports and information to wider audience. Visit our A goal of the MPCA is to reduce the amount of website for more information. pollution that is emitted in the state. By April 1 of each year, the MPCA shall report the best The MPCA reports are printed on 100% post- estimate of the agency of the total volume of consumer recycled content paper water and air pollution that was emitted in the manufactured without chlorine or chlorine state the previous calendar year for which data derivatives. are available. The agency shall report its findings for both water and air pollution, etc., etc. HIST: 1995 c 247 art 1 s 36; 2001 c 187 s 3 Author Joe Magee (MPCA) Contributors/acknowledgements Tiffany Schauls (MPCA) Jen Ender (MPCA) Ashley Ignatius (MPCA) Bill Thompson (MPCA) Ben Roush (MPCA) Chandra Henrich (MPCA) Mel Markert (MPCA) Joel Chirhart (MPCA) Joe Hadash (MPCA) Steven Wolf (MPCA) Mason Johnson (MPCA) Kelsey Budahn (MPCA) Henry Cole (MPCA) Matt Seha (MPCA) Jinny Fricke (MPCA) Jon Lore (DNR) Jeanine Vorland (DNR) Craig Soupir (DNR) Editing and graphic design PIO staff Graphic design staff Administrative Staff 2 Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 4 List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Key Terms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 8 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 9 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 10 1.1. Monitoring and Assessment ............................................................................................................. 10 1.2. Stressor Identification Process ......................................................................................................... 11 1.3. Common Stream Stressors ............................................................................................................... 12 1.4. Report Format .................................................................................................................................. 13 2. Overview of the Winnebago River Watershed ........................................................................... 14 2.1. Background ....................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Monitoring Overview ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.3. Summary of Biological Impairments ................................................................................................. 15 3. Possible Stressors to Biological Communities ............................................................................. 17 3.1. Eliminated Causes ............................................................................................................................. 17 3.2. Inconclusive Causes (insufficient information) ................................................................................. 17 3.3. Summary of Candidate Causes in the Winnebago River Watershed ............................................... 18 4. Evaluation of Candidate Causes ................................................................................................. 20 4.1 Winnebago River (8-digit HUC) ................................................................................................................ 20 5. References ..................................................................................................................................... 60 6. Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 62 3 List of Tables Table 1. Common streams stressors to biology (i.e., fish and macroinvertebrates). ................................. 12 Table 2: Biologically impaired AUIDs in the Winnebago River Watershed. ................................................ 15 Table 3. Fish classes with respective modified use IBI thresholds and upper/lower CL found in the Winnebago River Watershed. ..................................................................................................................... 15 Table 4. Macroinvertebrate classes with respective modified use IBI thresholds and upper/ lower CL found in the Winnebago River Watershed. ................................................................................................ 16 Table 5: Metal concentrations in the Winnebago River Watershed on August 17, 2016. ......................... 18 Table 6: Fish and macroinvertebrate classes, IBI scores, and modified use thresholds for stations in the Winnebago River Watershed. Stations in the upper portion of the table are upstream of Bear Lake, and stations in the lower portion are downstream of Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). Biologically impaired stations are highlighted red. ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Table 7: Temperature range during sonde deployments in the Winnebago River Watershed in 2015 and 2016. Stations in the upper portion of the table are upstream of Bear Lake, and stations in the lower portion are downstream of Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). .................................................................................... 25 Table 8: Fish metrics that respond to temperature stress in the Winnebago River Watershed compared to the statewide average of visits meeting the biocriteria. Bold indicates metric value indicative of stress. Stations in the upper portion of the table are upstream of Bear Lake, and stations in the lower portion are downstream of Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). Biologically impaired stations are highlighted red. ................... 26 Table 9: Nitrate concentrations (mg/L) across the Winnebago River Watershed. Stations on left side of table are located above Bear Lake, and stations on right side of table are located below Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 Table 10: Macroinvertebrate metrics that respond to nitrate stress in the Winnebago River Watershed compared to the statewide median of visits meeting the biocriteria. Bold indicates metric value indicative of stress. Stations in the upper portion of the table are upstream of Bear Lake, and stations in the lower portion are downstream of Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). Biologically impaired stations are highlighted red. ........................................................................................................................................... 29 Table 11: TP concentrations (mg/L) across the Winnebago River Watershed. Stations on left side of table are located above Bear Lake, and stations on right side of table are located below Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Table 12: TP, chl-a, and BOD samples in the Winnebago River Watershed. Stations in the upper portion of the table are upstream of Bear Lake, and stations in the lower portion are downstream of Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). Exceedances are highlighted in red font. .................................................................... 32 Table 13: Macroinvertebrate metrics that respond to eutrophication stress in the Winnebago River Watershed compared to the statewide median of visits meeting the biocriteria. Bold indicates metric value indicative of stress. Stations in the upper portion of the table are upstream of Bear Lake, and 4 stations in the lower portion are downstream of Bear Lake (but not necessarily connected to the lake; stations 15CD001 and 15CD002 are the only stations receiving outflow). Biologically impaired stations are highlighted red. ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Table 14: Fish metrics that respond