MIDDLEMIDDLE SNAKESNAKE TAMARACTAMARAC RIVERSRIVERS WATERSHEDWATERSHED DISTRICTDISTRICT OFF CHANNEL STORAGE SITE PL-566 PROJECT FARMSTEAD RING DIKE AGASSIZ VALLEY WATER ANGUS OSLO SITE #4 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT Table of Contents I. Letter of the Chairman II. Background/History III. Middle Snake Tamarac Rivers Watershed District a. Board of Managers b. Office c. Staff d. Advisory Committee e. Engineering Services f. Legal Services g. Meetings IV. 2010 In Review Website V. Permits VI. Project Status a. Angus-Oslo #4 b. Agassiz Valley Water Resource Management Project c. Snake River Law PL-566 Project d. Brandt-Angus Coulee Project e. Angus-Oslo #1 f. Project 60 g. Farmstead Ring Dikes h. Swift Coulee / County Ditch #3 i. Red River Watershed Management Board j. Drainage System Maintenance Beaver Control Judicial Ditch Systems k. Stream Maintenance l. Education VII. Projections for 2011 a. Agassiz Valley Water Management Project b. Brandt-Angus Coulee Project c. Farmstead Ring Dikes d. Red River Watershed Management Board e. Ditch Maintenance f. Stream Maintenance g. 10 Year Management Plan VIII. Ditch Levies IX. Conclusion X. Financial Statement --3- 3 - I. Letter of the Chairman Pursuant to the Minnesota Watershed Act, Chapter 103D, we hereby submit this forty first Annual Report, for the Middle Snake Tamarac Rivers Watershed District, for the year 2010. The MSTRWD compiles a yearly report of its financial condition, matters affecting the District, status of all projects, and projections for next year. 2010 was another eventful year in the MSTRWD. The spring again brought flooding along the Red River of the North. The continuing above normal precipitation cycle and increased flooding in the Red River Valley has led to the forming of the Red River Retention authority to deal with flooding on a basin wide basis. The RRR is a joint board of the Red River Water Management Board on the Minnesota side of the river and the Red River Joint Water Resources Board on the North Dakota side of the river. It is hoped that in the upcoming years federal funds will be funneled into the Valley, thru this organization, to build flood retention sites in the basin to reduce flows basin wide by 20%. As has been stated in the MSTRWD's Watershed Management Plan and past Annual Reports, the number one purpose of the District is “to control or alleviate damages by flood waters". The Middle Snake Tamarac Rivers Watershed District in cooperation with the Red River Retention authority, the Red River Water Management Board and the State of Minnesota will continue with its goal of 20% flow reduction on all the tributaries in the MSTRWD. The MSTRWD continues its efforts to mitigate flood damages in specific affected areas in the District. Project Work teams are active on the Brandt Angus Coulee Flood Control Project, as well as in the Marshall County Ditch #3/Swift Coulee sub watersheds. Project teams will be established in other sub watersheds as time and funding permit. Water quality is an on going issue in the District. As more and more reaches of streams and rivers are monitored more impaired reaches are being identified. In 2011 the MSTRWD will enter into a contract with the Minnesota Pollution Agency to do a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study on the Tamarac River. This study will attempt to locate problems and problem areas and suggest Best Management Practices that can be implemented to help reduce the degree of impairment. Limited capital resources are an on going problem for governmental units in the State of Minnesota. In an attempt to reduce duplication of effort and costs in the management of water across the State, the Water Management Summit for local government was set up. Minnesota watershed districts joined with counties and cities from around the State to discuss ways that government could reduce government overlap in the management of the State’s waters. The MSTRWD participated in this effort. Be assured our goal is to continue to work diligently for the public good and implement projects that will accomplish that goal. The Middle Snake Tamarac Rivers Watershed - 4 - District is committed to the management of the District’s water resources thru its rules, permits, projects and technical assistance. - 5 - II. BACKGROUND/HISTORY The Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District was established by an order of the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources on August 28, 1970 to address water resource management issues and to alleviate flooding in the Red River Valley. Since its establishment the District has worked primarily to develop projects that manage surface water. The District as it currently exists consists of approximately 1,476 square miles in Marshall, Polk, Pennington, Kittson and Roseau Counties. The District was established on August 28, 1970.The boundary of the District has been modified five times by boundary change proceedings. The District includes the drainage basin of the Snake River consisting of approximately 750 square miles; the Middle River, which is a tributary of the Snake River, consisting of approximately 295 square miles; the Tamarac Watershed Area which consists of approximately 433 square miles, and the drainage basin of several Legal Drainage Systems, which drain directly into the Red River of the North. In 1973, the jurisdiction of the judicial drainage systems within the District was transferred by the District Court to the Board of Managers. Since 1973, the jurisdiction of Marshall County Ditch #1, Marshall County Ditch #4, Marshal County Ditch #39, Lateral #7 of Marshall County Ditch #44 and Polk County Ditch #175 has been transferred to the Board of Managers. At the present time, there are approximately 310 miles of legal drainage systems under the jurisdiction of the Board of Managers. The jurisdiction of the drainage systems in the Tamarac Watershed area was not changed with the inclusion of the area in the District. In 1974, the District adopted rules that regulate certain works in the District. These rules were modified slightly in 1978 and 1999. These were again modified in 2004. In 1977, the Board entered into a Joint Powers Agreement with the other Watershed Districts in the Red River Basin to form the Lower Red River Watershed Management Board. In 1991, the name was changed to the Red River Watershed Management Board. This organization provides funding to member districts, primarily for floodwater detention structures, which benefit more than one member District. In 2003, the Buffalo Red Watershed District withdrew from this organization. The Red River Watershed Management Board now consists of eight watershed districts. In April 2002, at the request of a number of residents, the Marshall County Board of Commissioners petitioned the Board of Soil and Water Resources to add the Tamarac Watershed area to the Middle River Snake River Watershed District. The petition also requested that the number of Managers be increased from 5 members to 7 members and that the name is changed to the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District. In September 2002, the Board of Soil and Water Resources granted the petition to enlarge the District by adding the Tamarac Watershed area to the District. - 6 - This increased the number of Managers from 5 managers to 7 managers, changed the name to the “Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District”, and increased the area of the District by about 44% (440 square miles). In 2003, both the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District and the Two Rivers Watershed District petitioned the Water Resources Board for a boundary change. This petition was filed to have the actual District boundaries follow as much as possible the hydrologic boundary. This petition was granted. The net effect of this petition was to move approximately 14 square miles into the Two Rivers Watershed District and to move about 2 square miles into the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District. In 2004, the District petitioned the Board of Water and Soil Resources to amend the 1994 Watershed Management Plan. The request to amend the plan was made so that the Amended Plan would reflect the inclusion of the Tamarac Watershed area in the District. In December 2004, a hearing on the proposed Amended Plan was held. In January 2005, the Board approved the Amended Plan. The Amended Plan was published in May of 2005. In 2009, the District began the process to update their 10 Year Management Plan. The process continued thru 2010 with a hearing before the Minnesota Board of Water and Water Resources set for June 2011. Middle Snake Tamarac Rivers Watershed District - 7 - III. MIDDLE SNAKE TAMARAC RIVERS WATERSHED DISTRICT BOARD OF MANAGERS A Board of Managers governs the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District. The Board of Managers is composed of seven managers appointed by the County Commissioners for Marshall and Polk Counties. The Marshall County Commissioners appoint six managers and the Polk County Commissioners appoint one manager. Each manager appointed serves a three year term that is staggered with the terms of the other managers. The Managers of the District and their terms are: Name Office Address County Term–Ends Doug Sorenson President Warren, MN Marshall Aug 27, 2013 John W Nelson Vice Pres Oslo, MN Marshall Aug 27, 2013 Ben Kleinwachter Secretary Strandquist, MN Marshall Aug 27, 2011 Alvin Nybladh Treasurer Stephen, MN Marshall Aug 27, 2011 Marvin Hedlund Ass't Sec Oslo, MN Polk Aug 26, 2011 David Bakke Manager Newfolden, MN Marshall Aug 27, 2012 Roger Hille Manager Warren, MN Marshall Aug 27, 2012 In 2010, the Marshall County Board of Commissioners re-appointed Doug Sorenson and John W Nelson to serve another 3 year term. OFFICE The Middle Snake Tamarac Rivers Watershed District office is located at: 453 North McKinley Street Warren, Minnesota 56762.