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Minnesota River Watershed health July 2018 Minnesota River – Headwaters Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs Authors by using the Internet to distribute reports and Dan Fettig information to wider audience. Visit our Jordan Donatell website for more information. John Genet MPCA reports are printed on 100% post- Kelli Nerem consumer recycled content paper Bruce Monson manufactured without chlorine or chlorine David Duffey derivatives. Contributors/acknowledgements Kim Laing Pam Anderson Katherine Pekarek-Scott 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 | 651-296-6300 | 800-657-3864 | Or use your preferred relay service. | [email protected] This report is available in alternative formats upon request, and online at www.pca.state.mn.us. Document number: wq-ws3-07020001b Contents List of acronyms ....................................................................................................................................... v Executive summary .................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3 The watershed monitoring approach ............................................................................................................... 4 Assessment methodology ................................................................................................................................ 9 Watershed overview ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Watershed-wide data collection methodology .............................................................................................. 25 Individual aggregated 12-HUC subwatershed results ............................................................................... 29 Aggregated 12-HUC subwatersheds .............................................................................................................. 29 Lower Little Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000103-01 .............................. 30 Big Stone Lake-Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000104-01 .............................. 33 Fish Creek Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000104-02 .............................. 38 Whetstone River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000107-01 .............................. 41 Marsh Lake-Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000111-01 .............................. 44 Stony Run Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000108-01 .............................. 47 Tributary To South Fork Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000110-03 .............................. 52 South Fork Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000110-02 .............................. 55 Lower North Fork Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000109-01 .............................. 58 Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000110-01 .............................. 61 County Ditch No. 3A Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000111-03 .............................. 65 Five Mile Creek Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000111-02 .............................. 68 Lac qui Parle Reservoir-Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC HUC 0702000112-01 .............................. 73 Watershed-wide results and discussion .................................................................................................. 78 Stream water quality ...................................................................................................................................... 78 Lake water quality .......................................................................................................................................... 79 Fish contaminant results ................................................................................................................................ 80 Pollutant load monitoring .............................................................................................................................. 84 Groundwater monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 87 Stream flow .................................................................................................................................................... 90 Wetland condition .......................................................................................................................................... 91 Transparency trends for the Minnesota River-Headwaters watershed ........................................................ 99 Remote sensing for lakes in the Minnesota River-Headwaters watershed ................................................... 99 Priority waters for protection and restoration in the Minnesota River-Headwaters watershed ................ 101 Summaries and recommendations ........................................................................................................ 102 Literature cited .................................................................................................................................... 105 Appendix 1. Water chemistry definitions ..................................................................................................... 107 Appendix 2.1. Intensive watershed monitoring water chemistry stations in the Minnesota River- Headwaters Watershed ............................................................................................................................... 108 Appendix 2.2. Intensive watershed monitoring biological monitoring stations in the Minnesota River - Headwaters Watershed ............................................................................................................................... 109 Appendix 3.1. Minnesota statewide IBI thresholds and confidence limits .................................................. 111 Appendix 3.2. Biological monitoring results – fish IBI (assessable reaches) ................................................ 112 Appendix 3.3. Biological monitoring results-macroinvertebrate IBI (assessable reaches) .......................... 114 Appendix 4.1. Fish species found during biological monitoring surveys...................................................... 116 Appendix 4.2. Macroinvertebrate species found during biological monitoring surveys ............................. 117 Appendix 5. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment results ....................................................................... 121 Appendix 6. Lake protection and prioritization results ................................................................................ 124 i Tables Table 1. Proposed tiered aquatic life use standards. .......................................................................................... 10 Table 2. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Lower Little Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ........................................ 30 Table 3. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Big Stone Lake-Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ........................................ 34 Table 4. Lake water aquatic recreation assessments: Big Stone Lake-Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC. .. 35 Table 5. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Fish Creek Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ......................................................................... 38 Table 6. Lake assessments: Fish Creek Aggregated 12-HUC. .............................................................................. 39 Table 7. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Whetstone River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ......................................................................... 41 Table 8. Lake assessments: Marsh Lake-Minnesota River Aggregated 12-HUC. ................................................ 45 Table 9. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Stony Run Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ......................................................................... 48 Table 10. Lake assessments: Stony Run Aggregated 12-HUC. ............................................................................ 49 Table 11. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Trib. To South Fork Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ............................... 52 Table 12. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: South Fork Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ........................................ 55 Table 13. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Lower North Fork Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table. ........................................ 58 Table 14. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Yellow Bank River Aggregated 12-HUC. Reaches are organized upstream
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