Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report Second Edition 2014
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Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report 2ND EDITION JULY 2014 Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report 2ND EDITION – 2014 Published by the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, July 1, 2014 Editors Bev J. Clark1 Todd J. Sellers2 Editorial Committee Nolan Baratono3 Andrew Paterson4 Anna DeSellas4 Kathleen Rühland8 Ryan Maki5 Jim Stark9 Tana McDaniel6 Phil Talmage10 Tom Mosindy7 Matthew DeWolfe11 Tim Pascoe6 1 13 Aubrey St, Bracebridge ON 2 Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, Kenora, ON 3 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, International Falls, Minnesota 4 Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Dorset Environmental Science Centre, Dorset, ON 5 U.S. National Parks Service – Voyageurs National Park 6 Environment Canada, Burlington, ON 7 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Fisheries Assessment Unit, Kenora, ON 8 Queen’s University, Kingston, ON 9 United States Geological Survey, Mounds View, MN 10 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Baudette, MN 11 Lake of the Woods Control Board Secretariat, Ottawa, ON Prepared in cooperation with: Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation Ontario Ministry of the Environment Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Environment Canada International Joint Commission Minnesota Pollution Control Agency U.S. National Parks Service – Voyageurs National Park Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Editors’ Note United States Geological Survey This report was a collaborative effort and its Queen’s University completion would not have been possible without Lake of the Woods Control Board Secretariat the contributions of numerous researchers, resource managers and agencies in the basin. We extend The information contained in this State of the Basin Report – 2nd Edition special thanks to the Editorial Advisory Committee was compiled by the Editors and the Editorial Committee from information for their contributions and to the International Joint Commission and the Lake of the Woods Water in the original 2009 report and from published and unpublished research Sustainability Foundation for providing resources for that has become available since 2009. the preparation and publication of this report. We Funding was provided by the International Joint Commission under IJC also thank Patty Nelson, of Kenora, for her excellent contract No. 1042-300765, dated September 30, 2013 and from the Lake of graphical design and layout of this report. the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation. Cover The content herein does not reflect the official views and policies of The Watershed of Lake of the Woods the International Joint Commission or the Lake of the Woods Water International Joint Commission 1928 Sustainability Foundation. (Lee Grim) TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .................................................................................................................... 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMAry ............................................................................................... 11 Governance ........................................................................................................ 11 Research and Monitoring ................................................................................. 12 Recommendations ............................................................................................ 14 Governance ................................................................................................ 14 Research ..................................................................................................... 14 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 15 What’s New in the Second Edition .................................................................. 15 1 CURRENT CONDITIONS .......................................................................................... 17 Part 1 - Drainage Basin Characteristics ........................................................ 17 Hydrology, Lake Levels and Flow Regulation ...................................... 18 Major Inflows and Tributary Assessment .............................................. 29 Geology ...................................................................................................... 31 Land Cover ................................................................................................ 32 Land Use .................................................................................................... 35 Human Population .................................................................................... 42 Climate Variables ...................................................................................... 44 Part 2 - In-Lake Characteristics ...................................................................... 48 Physical Limnology and Morphometry ................................................. 48 Water Chemistry ....................................................................................... 51 Trophic Status ............................................................................................ 72 Nutrient Loading ....................................................................................... 80 Nutrient Flux and Budgets ....................................................................... 85 Part 3 - Sediment Characteristics ................................................................... 90 Sediment History ...................................................................................... 90 Lake Sediments .......................................................................................... 90 River Sediments ......................................................................................... 95 Part 4 - Biological Communities ..................................................................... 96 Phytoplankton ........................................................................................... 96 Benthic Algae ............................................................................................. 99 Zoobenthos ................................................................................................ 100 Zooplankton ............................................................................................... 106 Fish .............................................................................................................. 108 Macrophytes and Emergent Plants ......................................................... 115 Mammals .................................................................................................... 116 Waterbirds .................................................................................................. 117 Reptiles and Amphibians ......................................................................... 125 Species at Risk ............................................................................................ 126 2 HISTORIC CONDITIONS ........................................................................................ 129 Paleolimnological Approach ......................................................................... 129 Water Quality and Biota ......................................................................... 129 Morphology, Geology, and Hydrological Control .............................. 132 Nutrient Loading / Erosion ................................................................... 133 Climate Variables .................................................................................... 134 3 BASIN CONCERNS ................................................................................................ 135 Part 1 - Algal Blooms ...................................................................................... 136 Gaps and Next Steps ............................................................................... 136 Part 2 - Climate Change .................................................................................. 137 Gaps and Next Steps ............................................................................... 138 Part 3 - Contaminants ..................................................................................... 138 Gaps and Next Steps ............................................................................... 146 Part 4 - Invasive Species ............................................................................... 147 Gaps and Next Steps ............................................................................... 147 Part 5 - Nutrients and Internal Loading ....................................................... 147 Gaps and Next Steps ............................................................................... 147 Part 6 - Water Levels and Erosion ................................................................ 148 Gaps and Next Steps ............................................................................... 150 4 INTERNATIONAL WATERSHED CONSIDERATIONS .......................................... 151 Part 1 - Watershed Governance .................................................................... 151 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board ............... 151 The [Canadian] Lake of the Woods Control Board and the International Lake of the Woods Control Board ................................ 152 Part 2 - Coordinating Research Efforts ......................................................... 154 Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation ......................... 154 IJC — International