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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Managing Agricultural Drainage Reduces Bacteria in Clearwater River
Waterbodv Improved NonP°int sources °f pollution, such as livestock
operations, wildlife, and drainage from wild rice paddies,
contributed high levels of bacteria in Minnesota's Clearwater River that violated water
quality standards. As a result, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) added
a 58-mile segment of the Clearwater River to the state's Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2002 for pathogens impairment. Project
partners implemented a number of restoration projects, including planting buffer strips,
stabilizing streambanks and improving the drainage of wild rice paddies. These efforts
have reduced bacteria levels; as a result, MPCA removed the 58-mile segment of
Clearwater River from the state's 2010 list of impaired waters for bacteria.
Problem
The 886,600-acre Clearwater River watershed
(Figure 1) drains portion of Clearwater, Mahnomen,
Polk and Red Lake counties in northern Minnesota's
Red River Basin. Major land uses in the watershed
include agriculture (54 percent), forest (24 percent)
and wetlands (14 percent). The watershed has a
poorly defined floodplain and low gradient, and
it has been altered by extensive drainage, wide-
spread conversion of tallgrass prairie to farmland,
and urban/suburban development. As a result,
the basin is subject to frequent floods that affect
urban and rural infrastructure, as well as agricultural
production. Between 1948 and 1958, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers channelized approximately
38 miles of the Clearwater River to reduce flood
damage to agricultural interests in the surrounding
area. This channelization has exacerbated upstream
streambank erosion problems, leading to increased
sediment loading in the river.
The "Clearwater River Nonpoint Study," completed
in the early 1990s, found that the monthly geo-
metric mean fecal coliform bacteria concentra-
tions exceeded the state's water quality standard
in June, August and September. As a result, the
MPCA added a 58-mile segment of Clearwater
River (from its confluence with Ruffy Brook to its
confluence with the Lost River) to Minnesota's
CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2002;
the reason given was failure to meet the state's
bacteria water quality standards to protect the
waterbody's aquatic recreation designated use.
Red Lake
Red Lake
Minnesota
Figure 1. Northwestern Minnesota's Clearwater River is in the
Red Lake River basin, a tributary of the Red River of the North.
Nonpoint sources of fecal coliform included live-
stock operations, wildlife, and drainage from wild
rice paddies along the river. Hydrologic modifica-
tion also contributed to pollution problems. This
segment was also listed in 2002 as impaired for
dissolved oxygen.
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Figure 2. Farmers restored streambanks and
installed vegetated buffer strips along the river.
Project Highlights
Numerous studies and implementation activities led
to the improved water quality of Clearwater River.
The Clearwater County and Red Lake County soil and
water conservation districts worked with farmers
to implement best management practices (BMPs)
throughout the watershed. The BMPs included
residue management, grazing management, nutri-
ent management, grade control structures, side
water inlets, streambank protection and grassed
waterways. The soil and water conservation districts
worked with local farmers with lands adjacent to the
river to install vegetated buffer strips along the river
to minimize erosion and intercept and filter runoff
(Figure 2). Farmers also modified stretches of ditches
to function as sediment traps. In 2001, farmers used
CWA section 319 grant funds to install erosion con-
trol and streambank stabilization BMPs at key sites in
the watershed. A number of wild rice growers along
the Clearwater River installed tile drainage in their
paddies, which reduced the amount of sediment and
waterfowl manure leaving the paddies.
Results
The Red Lake Watershed District, with support from
the MPCA, conducted a total maximum daily load
(TMDL) study from 2007 to 2009 to assess impair-
ments, define sources and loads of pollutants, esti-
mate the reductions in pollutants needed to meet
water quality standards, and propose strategies to
achieve the desired reductions. During the course
of the TMDL study, Minnesota's aquatic recreation
water quality standard transitioned from a fecal
coliform bacteria-based standard to an Escherichia
co/i bacteria standard of a maximum monthly mean
of 126 colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 mL.
Throughout the two-year study, at least five water
samples were collected monthly from several
locations along the Clearwater River. All samples
collected within the two-year monitoring period met
the state's £ co/i water quality standard to protect
the waterbody's aquatic recreation designated
use (Figure 3). Based on these results, the MPCA
confirmed that the Clearwater River segment no
longer required a TMDL to address the bacteria
impairment and removed the 58-mile segment
from the state's list of impaired waters in 2010 for
bacteria. Stakeholders continue to set pollution
reduction goals to further improve water quality and
are developing a Clearwater River Protection Plan
to coordinate these efforts. The segment remains
listed as impaired for dissolved oxygen.
Clearwater River at Plummer USGS Gauge (Site 780)
January
February
March"
April
May;
June
July"
August"
September
October"
November
• 1 sample
^^™ 1 sample
^•18 samples
mples
s
lies
nn l
4 samples
es
0 25 50 75 100 125
Monthly Geometric Mean £ Co// Concentration, Most Probable Number* (MPN)/100 ml
*MPN and CFU are essentially equivalent for comparison purposes.
Figure 3. Clearwater River monthly geometric mean E. co/i data
(2007-2009).
Partners and Funding
The success of the Clearwater River Nonpoint
Project was the result of coordination between
local, state and federal agencies. The Phase I
(study) portion of the project was completed by
the Red Lake Watershed District (RLWD) and HDR
Engineering and was sponsored by the RLWD and
local soil and water conservation districts. Phase
II of the project (implementation) was also admin-
istered and implemented by the RLWD. In 2001, a
$134,500 CWA section 319 grant funded stream
bank stabilization projects in the watershed. CWA
section 319 funds also supported the MPCA staff
who served in an advisory role throughout the life of
this project. State funding provided additional sup-
port, including an $852,541 loan from Minnesota's
Clean Water Partnership in 1996 and 2001, and
a grant of $100,000 from the 2007 Clean Water
Legacy state appropriation.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-12-001K
May 2012
For additional information contact:
Corey Hanson, Red Lake Watershed District
218-681-5800 • coreyh@wiktel.com
Jim Courneya, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
218-846-8105 • Jim.courneya@pca.state.mn.us
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