Soil & Water Conservation District Guidebook 2008 - Minnesota ...

Pictured: Big Swan Lake Shoreline Stabilization Project.
crops. With the installation of the basin over 8 pounds of
phosphorous have been prevented from reaching Schultz
Lake. The project was completed with cooperation of
producer, NRCS and the EQIP program, and Meeker SWCD
and the FWQMG program.
A Waterway was established on a site
located in the shoreland district of Lake Koronis. Sediment
from a gully was accumulating in a county road ditch and
then entering a culvert that discharged into the lake. The
project involved fi lling in the gully, installing a concrete drop
structure for high fl ows, and redirecting low fl ow runoff.
Water from the farmsteads and pasture is now directed into
the waterway, to the road ditch and is bypassed from Lake
Koronis to the North Fork of the Crow River. The installation
of this project has reduced 140 pounds of phosphorous
from entering Lake Koronis, which is considered a General
Development Lake by MN DNR with many public accesses
and a Joint County Park for Stearns and Meeker counties.
This project was completed with the cooperation of
producer, Meeker SWCD, NRCS, Meeker County Highway
Department, and the Koronis Lake Association.
Big Swan Lakeshore Restorations have
been completed on eight sites. The lake is a fl ow-through,
Recreational Development Lake with a very large watershed.
The outlet of Big Swan is the North Fork of the Crow River.
Numerous slope failures have occurred due to the fl uctuation
of the water level of 6-8 feet combined with the bluffs that
surround the lake. These projects have prevented 20 pounds
of phosphorous per site from discharging into the lake. These
projects have been completed with the cooperation of the
Meeker Soil & Water Conservation District
landowners, Meeker SWCD, Joint Powers Board Area 5,
MN DNR, and Meeker County.
Top 5 Natural Resource Concerns
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Protecting lake water quality
Protecting stream and river water quality
Assisting producers with agricultural runoff
Protecting and restoring wetlands
Assisting all landowners with resource needs and
concerns
Future Projects
Manannah Township Feedlot Improvement: This
site is located wholly in shoreland, and partially in the
fl oodplain of a tributary to Vails Lake in the Sauk River
Watershed. The proposed plan would direct all open lot
runoff and pump it uphill onto a fi lter strip. With the
proposed changes to the system there is an expected
reduction of 56 pounds of phosphorous. This project is
being completed with the cooperation of the producer,
NRCS and the EQIP program, and Meeker SWCD and
the FWQMG program.
Forest Prairie Township Feedlot Improvement: This
site is located in the shoreland of the Clearwater River.
This site contributes open lot runoff to County Ditch 44
which is a direct headwaters/tributary to the Clearwater
River, which is an impaired water. The plan for the site
is to direct all open lot runoff into a temporary holding
basin, then using a picket fence, discharge the runoff
into a fi lter strip. With the proposed changes to the
system there is an expected 31 pounds of phosphorous
reduction. This project is being completed with the
cooperation of the producer, Meeker SWCD and the
FWQMG program, the Joint Powers Board Area 5, and
the Clearwater River Watershed District.
Forest City Township Drop Structure: This site is a
ditch with a 400-acre watershed that has an active gully
at the head of the ditch. The ditch is a direct tributary
to the North Fork of the Crow Watershed which is
an impaired water. The proposal is to install a 6-foot
aluminum drop structure to eliminate the gully. The
project is being completed with the cooperation of the
landowner, Meeker SWCD and the NRCS.
97