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Water Quality Monitoring on the Rum River
The Mille Lacs SWCD, in partnership with the
Isanti SWCD has received a Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG) through the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to assess the water quality of the Rum
River.
The primary purpose of this project is to
gather water quality data and define the “ambient water quality condition”
of the Rum River Watershed in Mille Lacs and Isanti County. Sixteen physical
and chemical water quality parameters (Color, Alkalinity, Total phosphorus,
TSS, Turbidity Tube, Chloride, NOx, Ammonia, TKN, pH, Sulfate, Conductivity,
DO, chlorl-a, E. Coli and Temperature) will be collected over a two year
period at five sites. These five sites were chosen to fill in gaps of
existing knowledge to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the watershed.
Data from this project will be submitted to PCA’s STORET website and will be
available to various county departments, agencies, organizations and
individuals.
The second goal of the project is to build
the capacity of agencies, organizations and individuals to effectively
address water quality issues and concerns in the watershed. This will be
done through informational workshops, press releases and by creating
volunteer opportunities.
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Stream Walk on the Rum River
Local landowner Linda Evans, the Mille Lacs Soil
and Water Conservation District and teacher Amy Asmussen’s Princeton High School
Environmental Club teamed up on May 9th to do a Stream Walk to monitor river
conditions on Linda’s stretch of shore land. The
purpose of a stream walk is to become familiar with a section of a stream and
document observations. These observations can then be used as data when
evaluating the health of a stream. This stream walk was part of a Surface Water
Assessment Grant through the MN Pollution Control Agency that will assess the
water quality of the Rum River.
Kristi Heintz, Mille Lacs SWCD water monitoring intern, demonstrated the
equipment she uses to take samples for water quality testing. Kristi showed the
students how testing is being done by taking grab samples and by using a YSI 566
multi- meter to gain on-site readings of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and
specific conductivity.
SWCD District Manager, Susan Shaw canoed the riverbank with students, making
valuable observations from the river while SWCD Conservation Technician, Lynn
Carter lead students on a walk to identify native wildflowers, shrubs and trees
that were growing in the area. The group discussed what they were seeing and
speculated on what their observations indicated about the health of the river.
The diversity of spring wildflowers, lack of invasive plant species and the
abundance of frogs suggested to the students that this is indeed, a healthy
section of the river.
The students are working on recording and summarizing their data and are
looking forward to future stream walks where they will observe the changes in
the river from season to season. If you are interested in participating in the
next stream walk contact Lynn Carter, SWCD at 320-983-2160.
This project has been a joint venture between many agencies and individual
volunteers. The Onanegozie Resource Conservation & Development Council has been
instrumental in bringing together all the partners required to accomplish the
goals of the grant. Local agencies, water quality groups and community
volunteers are using the Rum River Surface Water Assessment Grant to monitor and
maintain the health of this important river eco-system. |
Mille Lacs SWCD
2008 Outstanding Conservationist! 
The City of Milaca was honored as the 2008 Mille Lacs
SWCD Outstanding Conservationist of the Year at this year’s Minnesota
Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Annual Convention in St
Paul on Tuesday December 9th. Greg Moyer, Milaca Parks Director
accepted the award at a luncheon sponsored by the MASWCD and Farmer Magazine.
The City of Milaca was chosen for bringing water quality issues to the attention
of the community by spearheading quality projects in public spaces. The Milaca
Library Rain garden was built in 2007 to filter storm water run off before it
reaches the Rum River and a shoreline restoration was installed on the Rum River
at Riverview Park to repair an eroding shoreline. Both of these projects
involved educational workshops and volunteer planting by the citizens of Milaca.
Mille Lacs SWCD Conservation Technician Lynn Carter says, “The City of Milaca
has set a high standard for the community and brought water quality issues to
the attention of the entire community. We really appreciate the leadership role
they have taken in conservation.”
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Telephone 320-983-2160 Fax 320-983-2107
Address: 1016 5th St. SE Milaca, MN 56353
Email:
susan.shaw@mn.nacdnet.net
Mille Lacs Soil and Water Conservation District is an Equal Opportunity Employer
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