Watershed Achievements Report

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Cedar River Basin Watershed Achievements Report 2015 Cedar River Watershed Cedar River Alternative Ditch Designs Sediment and nutrient loading to the hypoxic zone of the Gulf of Mexico is well documented, and significant portions of the loading have been attributed to the upper Mississippi River basin resulting from extensive agricultural production acreage. Small streams and ditches provide the best opportunity to mitigate the high levels of nutrients from subsurface tile drainage. Drainage ditches are limited in their removal potential because they are relatively narrow and are periodically dug out for maintenance. Maintenance of drainage channels is expensive for landowners. Alternative designs to these ditches have the potential to ameliorate the environmental impact of drainage and to reduce the cost of maintaining them. Goals The project focused on evaluating alternative designs for agricultural drainage ditches that are of statewide interest. The work did improve the Mullenbach drainage ditch located in the Cedar River Basin. Five years of water quality and quantity data were analyzed, which included more than 100,000 continuous nitrate, flow, pH, conductivity, temperature and precipitation readings as well as more than 1,000 grab samples of other types of water quality variables. In addition, data were collected to evaluate the physical stability of the ditch and changes in the biological characteristics. Tools were developed to assess the feasibility of two-stage ditches using economics and physical conditions of the sites. Results that count Two-stage ditch was a successful alternative design. It improved the habitat for fish and, hence, improving their Fish index of biological integrity (IBI) scores. The number of pools and riffles increased from 5 to 65 and from 5 to 68, respectively, from pre-construction to 2013. The design is stable with relatively moderate increase of 11% in bank width over the project duration. Denitrification rates were estimated to between 10% and 30%. More research is needed on the alternative design of rock inlet, seepage trenches and bench treatment systems. Financial information Funding type: Section 319 Grant amount: $286,128 Matching funds: $87,000 Final in-kind: $148,904 Contact information University of Minnesota Bruce Wilson, Professor 1390 Eckles Avenue St. Paul, MN 55108 612-625-6770 wilson@umn.edu MPCA Project Manager: Charles Regan Two stage Mullenbach drainage ditch in Mower County, Minnesota Minnesota Pollution Control Agency www.pca.state.mn.us 48
Cedar River Basin Watershed Achievements Report 2015 Cedar River Basin Active projects Section 319 projects awarded in 2014 Effectiveness of Targeted Dobbins Creek BMPs – 2014 Sponsor: Cedar River Watershed District Funding: Section 319 (Grant) $300,000 Purpose: Demonstrate the ability of new GIS and LiDAR technology to facilitate water quality and aquatic habitat improvements in waterways receiving agricultural drainage using a suite of targeted conservation practices. The primary focus will be to assess and document targeted BMP performance in reducing sediment, nutrient, and fecal coliform loads, improving IBI scores, and to analyze these changes from financial and watershed perspectives. This project will demonstrate the impact of prioritized, targeted, and tailored BMPs in the Dobbins Creek watershed with respect to hydrologic pathways and processes. This method could serve as a model for future watershed comprehensive BMP implantation projects. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency www.pca.state.mn.us 49
Page 1 and 2: Watershed Achievements Report 2015
Page 3 and 4: a Success Story . . . Lake Shaokata
Page 5 and 6: Cedar River Watershed and Shell Roc
Page 7 and 8: Introduction Watershed Achievements
Page 9 and 10: Section 319 Section 319 Grant progr
Page 17 and 18: eLINK Watershed Achievements Report
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Page 55 and 56: Lake Superior Basin Watershed Achie
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Watershed Achievements Report

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