2009 ERWSA Annual Report Final.pub - Sherburne Soil & Water ...

2009 ANNUAL ELK RIVER WATERSHED
A SSOCIATION REPORT
ERWSA 2009
The Elk River Watershed Association (ERWSA) was formed in
1994 as a result of Local Water Planning efforts in Sherburne
and Benton Counties. Concerned citizens identified
the water quality of the Elk River and lakes in the Elk
River Watershed as priorities for improvement. Thus, the
two Counties determined that a watershed approach would be
the most effective way to improve water quality. A Joint
Powers Board was formed by Sherburne and Benton SWCDs and
Counties for the purpose of coordinating efforts within the
Elk River Watershed.
Benton SWCD
14 2nd Ave W.
Foley, MN 56329
Phone: 320-968-5300 ext.3
Fax: 320-968-5304
E-mail: tiffany@soilandwater.org
Sherburne SWCD
14855 HWY 10
Elk River, MN 55330
Phone: 763-241-1170 ext.3
Fax: 763-241-1161
E-mail:
tdeterman@sherburne.swcd.org
Table of Contents
2009 Accomplishments at a Glance…………………………Page 2
Executive Summary…………Page 3
Implementation Projects…………..Page 4-5
Monitoring Activities………………………..Page 6
TMDL’s…………...Page 7
Education……………….. Page 8
New Project…………………...Page 9
2010 Projects Planned/In-Progress ……...Page 9

ERWSA BMP Projects Installed 1995-2009
BMPs
Nutrient Management Test
Plots
6 in-progress
2009 Accomplishments at a Glance
BMPs Continued
Shoreland revegetation
5 complete
3 in-progress
Education/Information
Elk River Watershed
Currents– Watershed Wide
Wetland Restoration
1 complete
1 in-progress
Riparian Pasture Buffer
1 complete
1 in-progress
Rain Garden
2 complete
Monitoring
E.coli Monitoring, 2 sites
TMDL Monitoring, 24 sites
2nd Annual Elk River
Cleanup
Other
Elk River Watershed TMDLs
2

2009 Executive Summary
The Elk River Watershed 2009 Annual Report is prepared to inform counties, board
members, elected officials and watershed stakeholders of the projects that took
place within the watershed over the previous year.
The objectives of this report are to:
Provide an easily accessible summary of the projects completed in 2009 for
board members, counties, elected officials and watershed stakeholders.
Provide a brief description of the projects that were most closely focused on
over the previous year.
Introduce projects that are planned for the current year.
The goals of the programs implemented in the ERWS are to improve water quality
to levels that are within the typical range for the ecoregion and delist impaired
waters in the Elk River, its tributaries, and lakes within the Elk River
Watershed.
In 2009 the ERWSA continued on their mission to improve water quality to levels
that are within the typical range for the ecoregion and de-list impaired waters
in the Elk River, its tributaries and lakes within the Elk River Watershed. To
accomplish this mission, the Joint Powers Board utilized two grants including a
federal 319 grant and a TMDL grant in addition to County funding and to a lesser
extent donations.
2009 Joint Powers Board
From Left: John Riebel, Sherburne
County Commissioner; Mike Hayes,
alternate member at large; Leander
Schlosser, Sherburne Soil & Water
Conservation District Supervisor;
Terry Polsfuss, Sherburne County
member at large; Brian Kaschmitter,
Benton County member at large; Leonard
Popp, Benton County member at large;
Doug Manthei, alternate member at
large; Joe Jordan, Benton Soil & Water
Conservation District Supervisor. Not
pictured: Joe Wollak, Benton County
Commissioner and Jim Stahlmann,
Sherburne County member at large.
The Elk River Watershed covers approximately 613 square miles of Sherburne
County, Benton County, Mille Lacs County, and Morrison County. The Elk River
and the St. Francis River are the major streams and hydrologic features of the
watershed. Elk River’s headwaters are located in northern Benton County and the
river outlets to the Mississippi River in Sherburne County.
3

Implementation Projects
Elk River Watershed Priority Lakes II
The Elk River Watershed Priority Lakes II project provides financial incentives
to landowners for establishing conservation practices on riparian land. Project
funds are used to offer assistance to install best management practices that
will improve water quality in the Elk River Watershed where other assistance is
not available. Money is also used to dedicate existing SWCD staff to offer
technical assistance to landowners who are installing the BMPs.
Eligible BMPs include: 1) Establishment of small nutrient management Best Management
Practice (BMP) test plots; 2) Restoration, enhancement and creation of
wetlands by creating impoundments; 3) Encouragement of farmers to install buffer
strips along pasture ditches; and 4) Continuation of re-establishment of natural
shoreline vegetation and installation of filter strips, rain gardens, and infiltration
ponds. This grant will sunset on August 31st, 2010.
2009 Completed Projects
2009/2010 Projects in-progress
1 Wetland restoration/creation
project complete
1 riparian pasture buffer
5 Shoreland revegetation projects
2 storm water BMPs installed
1 Filter Strip
1 Riparian pasture buffer
6 Nutrient Management Test Plots
3 Shoreland revegetation projects
Fitzpatrick Wetland Restoration
The Fitzpatrick project included the creation of a 10.4 acre wetland and an
adjacent 12.5 acre buffered area. Construction for the wetland creation began
in in the fall of 2008 and was complete in the fall of 2009; the buffer will be
planted in the spring of 2010. This project was completed in cooperation with
Benton SWCD, NRCS and West Central Technical Service Area engineers. The project
is located in Benton County just north of Foley off of MN State Highway 25.
Because this project is located in a highly visible location, two large
educational signs will be installed along the highway in spring 2010.
Riparian Pasture Buffer
This pasture is normally stocked with 100 dairy
cows throughout the grazing season. Pasture land
in this project was retired from livestock use
by enrolling the land into the ERWSA Riparian
Pasture Buffer Program.
This pasture contains two wetlands and one ditch
that was buffered to approximately 120 feet.
Livestock were excluded from the wetland areas
by installing fence. The total area of pasture
enrolled was 18.4 acres and the contract length
is 10 years.
4
Pictured above: Wetland livestock
exclusion boundaries.

Implementation Projects
Washington Ave. Shoreline Revegetation
In 2009 the City of Big Lake continued to work
with Sherburne SWCD staff to identify City
owned greenways which were in need of
revegetation. Soil erosion from storm water
runoff, foot traffic and waves were the main
problems on this site which is located on
Washington Avenue on Big Lake. 1,630 square
feet of shoreline was re-vegetated along with
the installation of a concrete spillway.
Installation of brush bundle wave breaks was
done by the Minnesota Conservation Corps (MCC)
and the site was planted by volunteers from
Cargill.
Pictured top right: Washington
Ave. shoreline before.
Bottom right: Washington Ave.
shoreline after.
Becker Fairway Circle
The Fairway Circle project includes a 416
square foot raingarden; overflow from the raingarden flows into an inlet
connected to a six inch perforated tile embedded in a 140’L x 3’W x 2’D
infiltration trench. The trench was covered with sod and blended into the
original lawn. The raingarden was planted with native plants from Hayland Woods
and Prairie Restorations, Inc. The City of Becker Public Works staff, Sherburne
SWCD and the Becker School District Service Learning Student Group helped to
install the plant materials and
mulch while learning about
raingarden function and design
and the advantages of using
native plants.
Pictured Left:
Becker
raingarden and
infiltration
trench. This
project was
designed with
engineering
assistance.
5

Monitoring Activities
2009 surface water sampling was conducted for a number of projects including:
Priority Lakes II, ERWSA TMDLs, and citizen stream/lake monitoring.
Priority Lakes II Bacteria Assessment
E.Coli Geomeans 2009
In 2009 the ERWSA continued to collect
350
300 Upstream Orono
bacteria samples within the watershed to
250 ER 44.5
determine if stream reaches upstream from
200
Lake Orono meet the bacteria criteria for
150 State Standard
placement of the 303(d) impaired watershed 100
list. High levels of bacteria in water from 50
human or animal fecal material can cause
0
illness in humans if ingested. Historically
the ERWSA monitored for Fecal Coliform
Bacteria in streams; because the MPCA recently
switched its standards to include
Escherichia coli (E.coli), a better indicator of harmful bacteria, sampling
conducted in 2009 was analyzed for E.coli.
Samples were collected on a weekly basis from April 1st through October 31st.
Results indicate that both sites monitored exceed standards at some point over
the applicable season.
E.coli CFU's
Citizen Stream Monitoring Program
2009 Monitoring Site Locations
In 2009 volunteers monitored 8 stream and
river sites throughout the Watershed. The
volunteers collect transparency and rain
fall information on the stream sites that
they have selected. Volunteers typically
take readings once a week from April though
October. The Citizen Stream Monitoring
Program is part of the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency’s (MPCA) Statewide monitoring
program. The ERWSA uses the volunteer
data to assess which streams are in need of
additional data collection and in assessment
of the health of the surface water.
Citizen Lake Monitoring Program
In 2009 volunteers monitored 18 lake sites
throughout the Watershed. This volunteer
program greatly multiplies the ERWSA’s
water quality sampling capabilities, while
volunteers learn about the water quality of
lakes in their region and the causes and
effects of lake pollution. CLMP volunteers
collect water transparency data using a
Secchi disk about once a week during the
summer months. The ERWSA uses the volunteer
data to assess which lakes are in need of
additional data collection and in assessment
of the health of the surface water.
6

Total Maximum Daily Load Projects
The TMDL program was initiated by the ERWSA and was developed in order to
address impaired water bodies located within the ERWS. This program goes
hand-in-hand with the 319 program goals in that the end result will be improved
water quality. This TMDL project focuses on the impairments in the Elk River
from the outlet of Big Elk Lake to the confluence with the St. Francis River
(fecal coliform bacteria and turbidity),
Mayhew Lake (excessive nutrients) and Big Elk
Lake (excessive nutrients).
In March 2009 the first public stakeholder
meeting was held; this meeting closed out the
first phase of the project. The second phase
began in the spring of 2009 with the
collection of water quality samples. Samples
were collected on a bi-weekly schedule to
capture a range of conditions. The data
collected over the season has been submitted
to Wenck (Project Consultant) to be analyzed.
A stakeholder Committee has been formed and
consists of members of the Benton Water
Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) and
members of the Sherburne Water Plan Advisory Committee. This committee will be
relied upon for input at stakeholder meetings; However, all stakeholders are
welcome and encouraged to attend meetings and submit comments. The next steps in
the process will include collection of sediment cores from Mayhew and Big Elk
Lake; this data will help determine the amount of internal phosphorus loading in
each lake thereby reducing the final margin of safety.
Sediment Quantification Survey
Watershed Coordinator, Tiffany
Determan, collecting water sample
on Big Elk Lake.
As part of the TMDL data collection process, a bank erosion survey was completed
on the Elk River for the portions listed as impaired for turbidity. The survey
was completed to assist in determining whether or not sediment plays a role in
the turbidity impairment on the Elk River. To complete the survey we floated
the Elk River by canoe from Big Elk Lake to County Road 5 near the confluence of
the Elk with the St. Francis River. Along the float, areas of bank erosion were
identified and measurements of the erosion were recorded. Preliminary results
from the survey indicate that bank erosion does not currently play a significant
role in turbidity levels; at least in this reach of the Elk River.
7

Education Activities
2nd Annual Elk River Watershed Cleanup
The second annual Elk River Watershed Cleanup attracted volunteers such as
residents of Wapiti Park Campground, the Elk River Knights of Columbus, a County
Commissioner and several other committed individuals.
Cleanup areas were situated along the Elk River near Becker, Big Lake and Elk
River. 26 volunteers worked from approximately 9am until 11am picking up nearly
830 pounds of trash (estimated) on nearly 6 miles of stream. Trash collected
included items such as hunting decoys, a life jacket, bicycles, tires, a realtor
sign, a metal chair, winter gloves, metal car parts, a couch, sleeping bags,
shoes, magazines, fast food wrappers, cigarette filters, glass bottles,
Styrofoam, aluminum cans, and various plastic pieces.
Thanks to the many generous donations, volunteers were provided with a light
breakfast and coffee. Donations also helped to remove and recycle the debris
removed by volunteers.
The 2010 Elk River Watershed Cleanup is scheduled to take place on October 16th,
2010. Volunteers are needed, please contact Sherburne SWCD if you are
interested.
8
Elk River Watershed Currents Newsletter
The ERWSA teamed up with the Upper Mississippi River Source Water Protection
Project team in an effort to disseminate a four page tabloid newsletter which
was mailed out to 23,000 households in the watershed. The first Currents
newsletter was mailed out to watershed residents in the Sherburne County portion
of the Elk River Watershed in fall 2007. In
the fall of 2008 Benton County residents received
a mailer. Thanks to a new partnership
formed with the Upper Mississippi river Source
Water Protection Project team, the third version
of the newsletter was mailed to 23,000
households watershed wide. The mailer plays a
major role in education for residents and assists
with promotion of the Joint Powers
board. We received many positive comments
regarding the mailer.

9
New Project
The 10 year watershed cycle for
Intensive Watershed Monitoring (IWM)
Phase I began in the spring of 2009 for
the Mississippi River St. Cloud (8 digit
HUC) watershed; the Elk River Watershed
comprises approximately 60 percent of
this area. Monitoring and field data
collected during the Phase I assessment
is in the process of being compiled and
in the summer of 2010 the work will
begin to conduct a watershed wide
assessment and monitoring effort that
will result in the final deliverable of
a implementation plan that will
prescribe restoration and protection
strategies for the surface water
resources within the Mississippi River
(St. Cloud) watershed.
Work is underway to conduct the Project
Planning and Coordination portion of the
Mississippi St. Cloud Major Watershed
project. This effort will focus towards
the development of project teams,
identifying stakeholders, reviewing
current and past watershed project data
and initial strategic planning among the
various project Local Government Units (LGU) on how to most effectively
accomplish the overall watershed wide assessment.
2010 Projects Planned/In-Progress
The ERWSA will continue to work towards the completion of the 319 grant
by completing the projects listed as “in progress” in this report, as
well as seek out additional priority BMPs as listed in this report.
Other projects in the queue for 2009 include:
3nd Annual Elk River Watershed Cleanup: scheduled for October 16, 2010.
Continue to purse a major role in the MPCA’s Targeted Watershed
Planning process.
Agricultural BMPs: Complete Fitzpatrick filter strips (a component of
the wetland project), completion of 1 wetland restoration, complete one
riparian pasture buffer and completion of 6 nutrient management test
plots.
Urban and Residential BMPs: Complete 3 Shoreland revegetation projects.
Continue to pursue relationships/partnerships with organizations that
have similar goals.
Pursue opportunities to develop a regular newsletter.