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Implementing the Source Water Protection Plans:
The following activities have been carried out by the UMRSWPP as part of the continuing process of implementing the St. Cloud, St. Paul, and Minneapolis Source Water Protection Plans. This work will also help define future implementation needs and priorities.
·Provide financial support for and participate in several activities of the Crow River Organization of Water (CROW), including the 1) development of a new CROW Strategic Plan, 2) Crow River Cleanup Days, 3) West Central Minnesota Earth Day events, and 4) TMDL projects within the Crow River Watershed.
·Participate in and provide financial support to the Sauk River Watershed District for its Lower Sauk River Water Festival and participate with the District in other education and outreach activities.
·Provide funding support to the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District for the Stearns Urban Conservationist position, and integrate the work of this position into source water protection, including coordination of source water protection and wellhead protection activities, stormwater management, and various education and outreach projects.
·With the Mississippi River Defense Network and the MPCA, produce time of travel charts to predict the travel time of a contaminant release into the Mississippi River. These charts will be used by water suppliers, first responders, emergency managers, and spill response planners to protect public water supply intakes and other users of the Mississippi River.
·Provide financial support to the Rice Creek Watershed District for its “Blue Thumb” initiative. This program aims to encourage homeowners to use native plant gardening, raingardens, and shoreline stabilization to reduce runoff from their home landscape in an effort to improve water quality.
·Provide financial support to and work with the Central Minnesota Water Education Alliance on efforts to raise awareness of source water protection and the relationship between land use and water quality through education and outreach campaigns through various media initiatives.
·Provide funds to the Elk River Watershed Association for the production of a newsletter addressing source water protection and the importance of the Elk River Watershed to the water quality of the Mississippi River. The newsletter was distributed to every household in the Elk River Watershed.
·Provide funds to the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization for the Whitaker Pond improvement project. This project will improve the quality of stormwater that drains to Lambert Creek and the St. Paul Regional Water Services’ water treatment plant.
·Fund and participate in the South Fork Crow River sediment apportionment study, the results of which will help support the targeting of source water protection measures to reduce the loading of sediment and related contaminants to the Crow and Mississippi Rivers.
·Participate as members of the MPCA Sauk-St. Cloud-CROW Upper Mississippi Basin Advisory Committee to integrate source water protection and MPCA’s basin planning and related watershed activities.
·Participate with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Department of Health on the development and implementation of the Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Study and the incorporation of source water protection into this project.
·Work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the development of MS4 stormwater permitting and incorporation of source water protection language in permits for communities whose stormwater systems discharge into delineated Source Water Protection Areas .
·Work with the National Park Service in the preparation of the “Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Water Resources Issues Report” and participate in Park Service’s Mississippi River Forums.
·Provide funding to and cooperate with the US Geological Survey on a methodology to identify locations on the Mississippi River in the project area where the river is discharging water to or being recharged by groundwater.
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