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Mississippi (St. Cloud) Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report

October 2012

Authors The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs MPCA (St. Cloud) Report Team: by using the Internet to distribute reports and Benjamin Lundeen, Kelly O’Hara, Jim MacArthur, information to wider audience. Visit our web site Bruce Monson, and Scott Niemela for more information.

Contributors MPCA reports are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper manufactured without Kris Parsons – MPCA GIS development chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Chuck Johnson – MPCA Stressor ID Phil Votruba – MPCA Watershed Manager Citizen Lake Monitoring Program Volunteers Citizen Stream Monitoring Program Volunteers Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Department of Agriculture RMB Environmental Laboratories, Inc.

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 | www.pca.state.mn.us | 651-296-6300 Toll free 800-657-3864 | TTY 651-282-5332

This report is available in alternative formats upon request, and online at www.pca.state.mn.us

Document number: wq-ws3-07010203b Contents Executive Summary ...... 1 I. Introduction ...... 2 II. The Watershed Monitoring Approach ...... 3 Figure 1. Major watersheds within Minnesota ...... 3 (8-Digit HUC) ...... 3 Load monitoring network ...... 3 Intensive watershed monitoring ...... 4 Figure 2. Overview of the intensive watershed monitoring design ...... 4 Figure 3. Monitoring locations of local groups, citizens, and the ...... 6 MPCA monitoring staff in the Mississippi River (St. Cloud) Watershed ...... 6 III. Assessment Methodology ...... 7 Water quality standards ...... 7 Assessment units ...... 7 Determining use attainment status ...... 8 Data management ...... 9 Period of record ...... 9 Figure 4. Flowchart of aquatic life use assessment process ...... 10 IV. Watershed Overview ...... 11 Physical setting ...... 11 Figure 5. The Mississippi River (St. Cloud) watershed within the ...... 11 North Central Hardwoods Ecoregion of ...... 11 Land use summary ...... 12 Figure 6. Land use in the Mississippi River (St. Cloud) watershed ...... 12 Surface water hydrology ...... 13 Climate and precipitation ...... 13 Figure 7. Statewide precipitation levels during the 2009 water year ...... 13 V. Watershed Wide Data Collection Methodology ...... 14 Stream water sampling ...... 14 Figure 8. Water chemistry monitoring stations in the Mississippi River (St. Cloud) watershed ...... 15 Stream biological sampling ...... 15 Figure 9. Biological monitoring locations in the Mississippi River (St. Cloud) watershed ...... 16 Fish contaminants ...... 17 Lake water sampling ...... 17 VI. Individual HUC-11 Watershed Results ...... 18 Stream assessment ...... 18 Stream habitat results ...... 19 Outlet water chemistry results ...... 19 Lake water chemistry ...... 19 HUC-11 and HUC-8 figures ...... 19 Upper Elk River Watershed Unit ...... 20 Table 1. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches in the Upper Elk River Watershed Unit. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table...... 20 Table 2. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment (MSHA) for the Upper Elk Watershed Unit ...... 21 Table 3. Outlet water chemistry results for the Upper Elk Watershed Unit ...... 21 Figure 10. Currently listed impaired waters by parameter and land use characteristics in the Upper Elk River Watershed Unit ...... 23 Mayhew Creek Watershed Unit ...... 24 Table 4. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches in the Mayhew Creek Watershed Unit. Reaches are organized upstream to downstream in the table...... 24

Table 5. Non-assessed biological stations on ch