Working with partners to restore and protect Minnesota's waters

October 2024

Don't let leaves litter lakes

The crunchy red, gold, and brown leaves fluttering to the ground this autumn might not look all that formidable, but they contain a wallop of nutrients that can hurt Minnesota’s lakes.

In a natural setting, leaves decompose on the ground where they fall and help restock the soil with nutrients and organic matter. The small amounts of leaves that naturally drop into lakes from surrounding trees don't have much of an effect.

But when leaves fall on streets, sidewalks, and other hardscapes in urban areas, they wash into municipal stormwater systems and end up in lakes and rivers where the leaves' nutrients feed algae growth.

Read more of this report on the MPCA website.

MPCA Chloride Reduction Grant program seeks proposals

The MPCA seeks grant proposals to reduce chloride pollution. Awards will range from $200,000-$500,000, with a 25% match requirement. Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. Oct. 16, 2024. The money must be spent and projects completed by June 30, 2028.

Chloride reduction actions could include projects such as:

• a water-softening rebate program for residents and businesses.
• source reduction at commercial, residential, municipal/public, and industrial facilities.
• equipment or technology upgrades for winter maintenance activities.
• offering trainings within the community to a variety of audiences.
• redevelopment with use of low or no chloride needed surfaces and strategies.
• non-chloride-based fertilizer implementation.
• improved dust control practices that eliminate or greatly reduce chloride-containing products.
• other strategies that eliminate or greatly reduce the need for chloride materials.

Visit the MPCA website to learn more.

This grant program is offered by the MPCA's Chloride Reduction Program and is funded through the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment.

New culverts provide climate resiliency to fish and people on Lake Superior’s North Shore

Brook trout swimming in streams along Lake Superior's North Shore face many challenges, from loss of habitat to rising temperatures. But life got a little easier for some of them recently with the construction of new culverts, a months-long project that provides climate resiliency for local roads and gives fish vital access to coldwater refuge.

“Stream temperatures are going to warm to a point that they’re inhospitable for brook trout,” says Jeff Jasperson, an environmental specialist with the MPCA. “But we also know that there are areas where fish can find cold water. The smaller streams and tributaries are not as susceptible to warming. By connecting them, we are protecting them from the predicted stream-temperature rises.”

Read more of this report on the MPCA website.

We Are Water exhibit heads to Shakopee

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community hosts We Are Water Oct. 10-Dec. 7 at Hoċokata Ṫi, 2300 Tiwahe Circle. This traveling exhibit explores the science, history, story, culture, and relationships of water in Minnesota. Visit the MPCA events page for more information.

In the news

Zebra mussels confirmed in Big Carnelian Lake

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed in August the presence of zebra mussels in Big Carnelian Lake, near Stillwater in Washington County. — DNR website

Lake association taking on Diamond Lake's algae woes

Colorful blooms of algae in Diamond Lake, near Atwater, Minnesota, and the toxins they produce have motivated action in Kandiyohi County. The Diamond Lake Area Recreational Association approved raising the annual assessment for the approximate 350 property owners around the lake from about $90,000 to $150,000, with intentions of using the money for a nanobubbler system. The proposed system would infuse 6,500 gallons of water a minute with oxygen-rich nanobubbles. — West Central Tribune

Beneficial native aquatic vegetation along the shoreline of Hay Lake.

Restoring Hay Lake, one prairie at a time

When Maggie Rice and her husband, Griff Bartzen, moved to Scandia in 2021, they were excited to find a slice of small-town living, less than an hour from Minneapolis and St. Paul. With cost-share grant support from the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District, the couple converted six acres of cropland to native prairie in 2022 and establish a 100-foot native buffer along Hay Lake. In 2022, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency de-listed Hay Lake, meaning it is no longer considered impaired. — East Metro Water

Cost is a barrier as cities prepare for wild weather in a changing climate

Moorhead officials are preparing for a changing climate and the extreme weather more likely in the future. Moorhead will benefit from the $3 billion Red River flood diversion project expected to be complete in 2027. The diversion will eliminate the risk of river flooding. But the project won’t protect the city from extreme rain events, now more common because of climate change. — Minnesota Public Radio

Potentially toxic algae bloom prompts warnings at Afton park

Afton officials warned residents in late August to stay out of the St. Croix River at Steamboat Park due to a potentially toxic blue-green algae bloom. Not all blue-green algae blooms produce toxins, but there is no way to predict if or when a bloom will produce toxins. — TwinCities.com

Richard and Mary Gallea’s property on Great Northern Lake features native plants. (Ben Hovland / MPR News)

How a Stearns County couple restored a damaged lakeshore

Mary and Richard Gallea's property on Great Northern Lake is a lush sweep of native plants that help slow and absorb water running off the house and driveway, keeping phosphorus and other pollutants out of the lake. It's a far cry from what was there 20 years ago. — Minnesota Public Radio

Library works on database linking upper Mississippi River

A new collaboration between the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Murphy Library and those with a wide-range of information about the Upper Mississippi River has formed. University officials announced the start of the Driftless River Initiative this summer. The initiative aims to grow an online collection related to all thing’s river — from maps and scientific studies to wildlife and culture. — Wisconsin Public Radio

Minnesota, US are losing valuable wetlands at an increasing rate

Minnesota and the Upper Midwest have been losing prime natural wetlands to development and logging that in many cases converts them to waters with few if any ecological benefits, according to a federal wetlands report released this spring. — phys.org

Maple Grove Creek restoration project called ‘rare opportunity’

A section of northwestern Maple Grove, Minnesota, will be a neighborhood called Evanswood. Developers have spent three years restoring the mile-long stream that runs through this area. — CCX Media

Recently in social media

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When the MPCA looks at pollution, sediment — or total suspended solids — is on our list. But if it’s “just dirt,” what’s the big deal? Cloudy, sediment-filled water can mean:

👁️ Animals struggling to see their food
🌱 Vegetation being prevented from growing
🐜 Habitat loss for the smallest creatures
🐟 Clogged fish gills
☀️ Rising water temperatures
🏞️ Altered river flows and depths

And more! Excessive sediment, often caused by erosion after large rain events, can be a big deal for fish, bugs, and waterways.

Volunteers, please send in your data!

Thank you to all of the Volunteer Water Monitors who collected water clarity data this summer! You are the eyes and ears of the lakes and streams across this state, and we are so thankful for your continued work in monitoring their health. As always, we eagerly await the data you worked so hard to collect, so please remember to send in your 2024 Secchi data by Oct. 31. You can submit your data to us in one of two ways:

1. Use our online data entry system. Log in to the MPCA's e-Services system here to access the system: https://rsp.pca.state.mn.us/TEMPO_RSP/Orchestrate.do.

2. Mail in your paper datasheet(s) in the envelope provided at the beginning of the season. You can also mail your datasheets directly to our office if you misplaced the postage-paid envelope. The St. Paul office address is: Volunteer Water Monitoring Program, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 520 Lafayette Rd N, St. Paul, MN 55155.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at 651-296-6300 (toll-free in greater Minnesota at 800-657-3864) or by email at [email protected].

The MPCA Waterfront Bulletin newsletter welcomes news from partners about
watershed projects, people, and upcoming events throughout Minnesota.

Email submissions to: [email protected].

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is a state agency committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate.