Lake Superior – North Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report January 2017 Authors The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs MPCA Watershed Report Team: by using the Internet to distribute reports and John Sandberg, Jesse Anderson, Benjamin information to wider audience. Visit our website Lundeen, Nathan Sather, Michael Bourdaghs, for more information. Sophia Vaughan, Kelli Nerem, Jeff Jasperson, Dave MPCA reports are printed on 100 percent post- Christopherson, Bruce Monson, Shawn Nelson, consumer recycled content paper manufactured Kris Parson, Stacia Grayson without chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Contributors / acknowledgements Citizen Stream Monitoring Program Volunteers Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Department of Agriculture Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District 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-ws3-04010101b List of acronyms AMA Aquatic Management Area MTS Meets the Standard AUID Assessment Unit Identification N Nitrogen Determination Nitrate-N Nitrate Plus Nitrite Nitrogen BEACH Beaches Environmental Assessment and NA Not Assessed Coastal Health NH3 Ammonia BWCAW Boundary Waters Canoe Area NS Not Supporting Wilderness NT No Trend CI Confidence Interval NWI National Wetlands Inventory CWA Clean Water Act OP Orthophosphate CWLA Clean Water Legacy Act P Phosphorous DOP Dissolved Orthophosphate PCB Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls E Eutrophic PFC Perfluorinated chemicals EQuIS Environmental Quality Information PFOS Perflurooctane sulfonate System PJG Professional Judgment Group EX Exceeds Criteria (Bacteria) RNA Research Natural Area EXP Exceeds Criteria, Potential Impairment RNR River Nutrient Region EXS Exceeds Criteria, Potential Severe Impairment SWAG Surface Water Assessment Grant FQA Floristic Quality Assessment SWCD Soil and Water Conservation District FIBI Fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity SWUD State Water Use Database FILLET Skin-off fillet TALU Tiered Aquatic Life Uses FILSK Skin-on fillet TKN Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen FS Full Support TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load FWMC Flow Weighted Mean Concentration TP Total Phosphorous HUC Hydrologic Unit Code TSS Total Suspended Solids IBI Index of Biotic Integrity UAA Use Attainability Analysis IF Insufficient Information UMD-NRRI University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute K Potassium EPA United States Environmental Protection LRVW Limited Resource Value Water Agency M Mesotrophic USGS United States Geological Survey MCL Maximum Contaminant Level WHORG Whole fish MDA Minnesota Department of Agriculture WPLMN Water Pollutant Load Monitoring MDH Minnesota Department of Health Network MNDNR Minnesota Department of Natural Resources MGS Minnesota Geological Survey MIBI Macroinvertebrate-based Index of Biotic Integrity MINLEAP Minnesota Lake Eutrophication Analysis Procedure MPCA Minnesota Pollution Control Agency MSHA Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment Contents List of acronyms .................................................................................................................................1 Contents ............................................................................................................................................1 Tables ................................................................................................................................................2 Figures ...............................................................................................................................................3 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................7 The watershed monitoring approach ............................................................................................................... 8 Assessment methodology ............................................................................................................................... 12 Watershed overview ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Watershed-wide data collection methodology .............................................................................................. 30 Individual 10-HUC subwatershed results ........................................................................................... 36 10-HUC subwatersheds .................................................................................................................................. 36 Arrow River subwatershed HUC 0401010101 ............................................................................ 38 Pigeon River subwatershed HUC 0401010102 ............................................................................... 41 Flute Reed River subwatershed HUC 0401010103 ................................................................................. 50 Brule River subwatershed HUC 0401010104 .......................................................................................... 55 Devil Track River subwatershed HUC 0401010105 ................................................................................. 68 Cascade River subwatershed HUC 0401010106................................................................................... 79 Poplar River subwatershed HUC 0401010107 ..................................................................................... 86 Temperance River subwatershed HUC 0401010108 .............................................................................. 97 Cross River subwatershed HUC 0401010109 ............................................................................. 105 Manitou River subwatershed HUC 0401010110 .................................................................................. 113 Baptism River subwatershed HUC 0401010111 .................................................................................... 122 Watershed-wide results and discussion .......................................................................................... 132 Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network .......................................................................................... 132 Stream water quality .................................................................................................................................... 142 Lake water quality ........................................................................................................................................ 143 Fish contaminant results .............................................................................................................................. 144 Groundwater monitoring ............................................................................................................................. 144 Stream flow .................................................................................................................................................. 147 Wetland condition ........................................................................................................................................ 148 Pollutant trends for the Lake Superior – North Watershed .......................................................................... 154 Summaries and recommendations ................................................................................................. 155 Literature cited .............................................................................................................................. 159 Appendix 1 - Water chemistry definitions .................................................................................................... 162 Appendix 2 - Intensive water chemistry monitoring stations in the Lake Superior – North Watershed ...... 164 Appendix 3.1 - AUID table of stream assessment results by parameter and beneficial use ........................ 165 Appendix 3.2 - Assessment results for lakes in the Lake Superior – North Watershed ................................ 169 Appendix 4.1 - Minnesota statewide IBI thresholds and confidence limits .................................................. 173 Appendix 4.2 - Biological monitoring results – fish IBI ................................................................................. 174 Appendix 4.3 - Biological monitoring results – macroinvertebrate IBI ......................................................... 176 Appendix 5.1 - Minnesota’s ecoregion-based lake eutrophication standards ............................................. 180 Appendix 5.2 - MINLEAP model estimates of phosphorus loads for lakes, Lake Superior - North Watershed .......................................................................................................................................... 181 Appendix 6 – Fish species found during biological monitoring surveys ........................................................ 182 Appendix 7