Lake Superior - South Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report June 2014 Authors The MPCA is reducing printing and mailing costs MPCA Lake Superior (S) Watershed Report Team: by using the Internet to distribute reports and Nathan Mielke, Benjamin Lundeen, Scott information to wider audience. Visit our Niemela, Jesse Anderson, Dave Christopherson, website for more information. David Duffey, Sophia Vaughan, Bruce Monson, MPCA reports are printed on 100% post- Shawn Nelson, Kris Parson, Andrew Streitz, consumer recycled content paper Stacia Grayson, Michael Bourdaghs, Tom manufactured without chlorine or chlorine Estabrooks, Jeff Jasperson, Tom Schaub derivatives. Contributors / acknowledgements Citizen Lake Monitoring Program Volunteers Citizen Stream Monitoring Program Volunteers Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Department of Health Minnesota Department of Agriculture AW Research Laboratories University of Minnesota Duluth – NRRI South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District St. Louis River Alliance 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-ws3-04010102b List of Acronyms AUID Assessment Unit Identification MINLEAP Minnesota Lake Eutrophication Determination Analysis Procedure CCSI Channel Condition and Stability Index MLRA Major Land Resource Area CD County Ditch MPCA Minnesota Pollution Control Agency CI Confidence Interval MSHA Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment CLMP Citizen Lake Monitoring Program MTS Meets the Standard? CR County Road N Nitrogen CSAH County State Aid Highway Nitrate-N Nitrate plus Nitrite Nitrogen CSMP Citizen Stream Monitoring Program NA Not Assessed CWA Clean Water Act NHD National Hydrologic Dataset CWLA Clean Water Legacy Act NH3 Ammonia DO Dissolved Oxygen NLF Northern Lakes and Forest DOP Dissolved Orthophosphate NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service E Eutrophic NS Not Supporting E. Coli Escherichia coli NT No Trend EQuIS Environmental Quality Information OP Orthophosphate System P Phosphorous EMAP Environmental Monitoring and PCB Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls Assessment Program PFOS Perfluoroocatanesulfonic Acid or EX Exceeds Criteria (Bacteria) Perfluorooctane Sulfonate EXP Exceeds Criteria, Potential Impairment PWI Protected Waters Inventory EXS Exceeds Criteria, Potential Severe RNR River Nutrient Region Impairment SWAG Surface Water Assessment Grant FS Full Support SWCD Soil and Water Conservation District ETSC Endangered, threatened or special SWUD State Water Use Database concern TALU Tiered Aquatic Life Uses FWMC Flow Weighted Mean Concentration TKN Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen H Hypereutrophic TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load HUC Hydrologic Unit Code TP Total Phosphorous IBI Index of Biotic Integrity TSS Total Suspended Solids IF Insufficient Information TSVS Total Suspended Volatile Solids IWM Intensive Watershed Monitoring USDA United States Department of Agriculture K Potassium USEPA United State Environmental Protection LRVW Limited Resource Value Water Agency M Mesotrophic USGS United States Geological Survey MCES Metropolitan Council Environmental VHS Viral hemorrhagic septicemia Services WPLMN Water Pollutant Load Monitoring MDA Minnesota Department of Agriculture Network MDH Minnesota Department of Health WAT Watershed Assessment Team MDNR Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Lake Superior - South Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report • June 2014 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Table of Contents List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................... i Contents ............................................................................................................................... ii Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2 I. The Watershed Monitoring Approach ............................................................................................... 3 II. Assessment Methodology ................................................................................................................. 7 III. Watershed Overview ..................................................................................................................... 11 IV. Watershed-Wide Data Collection Methodology .............................................................................. 22 V. Individual Watershed Results ......................................................................................................... 28 Beaver River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed - HUC0401010201 ............................................ 30 Gooseberry River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed - HUC 0401010202 ..................................... 39 Knife River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed - HUC 0401010203 .............................................. 48 City of Duluth – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed - HUC 0401010204 .......................................... 59 VI. Watershed-Wide Results and Discussion ........................................................................................ 69 VII. Summaries and Recommendations ............................................................................................... 91 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................... 94 Appendix 1 – Water Chemistry Definitions .......................................................................................... 97 Appendix 2 – Intensive Watershed Monitoring Water Chemistry Stations In The Lake Superior - South Watershed ..................................................................................................................................... 99 Appendix 3 – AUID Table Of Stream Assessment Results (By Parameter And Beneficial Use) ............... 100 Appendix 4 – Assessment Results For lakes In The Lake Superior - South Watershed ........................... 103 Appendix 5 – Minnesota Statewide IBI Thresholds And Confidence Limits .......................................... 104 Appendix 6 – Biological Monitoring Results – Fish IBI (Assessable Reaches) ........................................ 105 Appendix 7 – Biological Monitoring Results – Macroinvertebrate IBI (Assessable Reaches) ................. 108 Appendix 8 – Minnesota’s Ecoregion-Based Lake Eutrophication Standards ....................................... 111 Appendix 9 – MINLEAP Model Estimates Of Phosphorus Loads For Lakes In The Lake Superior - South Watershed ................................................................................................................................... 112 Appendix 10 – Fish Species Encountered During Biological Monitoring Surveys .................................. 113 Appendix 11 – Macroinvertebrate Species Encountered During Biological Monitoring Surveys ............ 114 Appendix 12 – Lake Superior Basin Fish Species: Endangered, Special Concern, Threatened, And Introduced ................................................................................................................................... 122 Lake Superior - South Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report • June 2014 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Tables Table 1. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Beaver River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. .................................................................................................................. 31 Table 2. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment (MSHA): Beaver River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. ............................................................................................................................... 32 Table 3. Channel Condition and Stability Assessment (CCSI): Beaver River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. ............................................................................................................................... 33 Table 4. Outlet water chemistry results: Beaver River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. .............. 34 Table 5. Lake water aquatic recreation assessments: Beaver River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. ............................................................................................................................... 35 Table 6. Aquatic life and recreation assessments on stream reaches: Gooseberry River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. .................................................................................................................. 39 Table 7. Minnesota Stream Habitat Assessment (MSHA): Gooseberry River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. ............................................................................................................................... 41 Table 8. Channel Condition and Stability Assessment (CCSI): Gooseberry River – Frontal Lake Superior Subwatershed. ............................................................................................................................... 42 Table 9. Outlet water chemistry results: Gooseberry River
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