Thief River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy Report March 2019
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Thief River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy Report March 2019 Dr wq-ws4-49a Project Partners Red Lake Watershed District Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Pollution Control Agency RMB Environmental Laboratories Marshall County Water Planner Marshall County Soil and Water Conservation District Emmons and Olivier Resources, Inc. Pennington County Soil and Water Conservation District Beltrami County Soil and Water Conservation District Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources Cover Photo In the photo, Red Lake Watershed District and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources staff are surveying longitudinal profiles of the Thief River (upstream of the 05076000 USGS gaging station) for the fluvial geomorphology study of the watershed. The picture was taken by Red Lake Watershed District staff. 2 Table of Contents Project Partners......................................................................................................................................... 1 Key Terms .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 7 What is the WRAPS Report?...................................................................................................................... 9 1. Watershed Background & Description ........................................................................... 11 1.1. Land Use ...................................................................................................................................... 14 1.2. Previous Study Summary: Total Suspended Sediment Loadings: Red Lake, Thief, Mud, and Moose Rivers study (2003) ...................................................................................................................... 16 1.3. Previous Study Summary: Erosion Sedimentation and Sediment Yield Report for the Thief and Red Lake Rivers Basin (April 1996) .......................................................................................................... 16 1.4. Previous Study Summary: Thief River Watershed Sediment Investigation (2010) ...................... 18 1.5. Previous Study Summary: Thief River Watershed Fluvial Geomorphology (2015) ..................... 19 1.6. Previous Study Summary: Assessment of Nutrients and Suspended Sediment Conditions in and near the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Northwest Minnesota, 2008-2010 (2012) .......................... 19 2. Watershed Conditions .................................................................................................. 22 2.1 Condition Status .......................................................................................................................... 22 2.1.1 Streams ............................................................................................................................... 23 2.1.2 Lakes .................................................................................................................................... 30 2.2 Water Quality Trends .................................................................................................................. 31 2.3 Stressors and Sources .................................................................................................................. 42 2.3.1 Stressors of Aquatic Life in the Thief River Watershed ...................................................... 42 2.3.2 Point Sources ...................................................................................................................... 45 2.3.3 Nonpoint Sources ................................................................................................................ 47 2.3.4 Nonpoint Sources of Sediment ........................................................................................... 48 2.3.5 Nonpoint Sources of Nutrients ........................................................................................... 70 2.3.6 Nonpoint Sources of E.coli .................................................................................................. 72 2.3.7 Fecal DNA Analysis .............................................................................................................. 73 3 2.4 TMDL Summary ........................................................................................................................... 75 2.5 Protection Considerations ........................................................................................................... 76 2.5.1 0902030401 Moose River ................................................................................................... 81 2.5.2 0902030402 Upper Thief River ........................................................................................... 85 2.5.3 Middle Thief River (Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge) ........................................................ 86 2.5.4 0902030405 Branch 200 of Judicial Ditch 11 ...................................................................... 88 2.5.5 0902030403 Mud River ....................................................................................................... 88 2.5.6 0902030406 Marshall County Ditch 20............................................................................... 90 2.5.7 0902030407 Judicial Ditch 30/18/13 .................................................................................. 91 2.5.8 0902030408 Lower Thief River ........................................................................................... 91 3. Prioritizing and Implementing Restoration and Protection ............................................ 94 3.1 Targeting of Geographic Areas ................................................................................................... 94 3.1.1 SWAT Modeling Results ...................................................................................................... 96 3.1.2 HSPF Modeling Results........................................................................................................ 99 3.1.3 Stream Power Index .......................................................................................................... 102 3.1.4 Longitudinal and Investigative Sampling .......................................................................... 109 3.1.5 Stream Channel Stability Assessment (Geomorphology) ................................................. 113 3.2 Civic Engagement ...................................................................................................................... 117 3.2.1 Civic Engagement Accomplishments of the Thief River WRAPS Project .......................... 117 3.2.2 Future Plans ...................................................................................................................... 119 3.3 Restoration & Protection Strategies ......................................................................................... 121 3.3.1. 09020304 Watershed-Wide Strategies ................................................................................... 123 3.3.2. 0902030401 Moose River ....................................................................................................... 128 3.3.3. 0902030402 Upper Thief River ............................................................................................... 131 3.3.4. 0902030403 Mud River ........................................................................................................... 134 3.3.5. 0902030404 Middle Thief River (Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge) ...................................... 137 3.3.6. 0902030405 Branch 200 of Judicial Ditch 11 .......................................................................... 140 4 3.3.7. 0902030406 Marshall County Ditch 20................................................................................... 142 3.3.8. 0902030407 Judicial Ditch 30/18/13 ...................................................................................... 144 3.3.9. 0902030408 Lower Thief River ............................................................................................... 146 3.4 Monitoring Plan ........................................................................................................................ 150 4 References and Further Information ........................................................................... 156 Appendix A. Thief River Watershed Stream TMDL/Load Allocation Tables.......................... 158 5 Key Terms Assessment Unit Identifier (AUID): The unique water body identifier for each river reach comprised of the USGS eight-digit HUC plus a three-character code unique within each HUC. Aquatic life impairment: The presence and vitality of aquatic life is indicative of the overall water quality of a stream. A stream is considered impaired for impacts to aquatic life if the fish Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), macroinvertebrate IBI, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, or certain chemical standards are not met. Aquatic recreation impairment: Streams are considered impaired for impacts to aquatic recreation if fecal bacteria standards are not met. Lakes are considered impaired for impacts to aquatic recreation if total phosphorus, chlorophyll-a, or Secchi disc depth standards are not met. Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC): A HUC is assigned by the USGS for each watershed. HUCs are organized in a nested hierarchy by