Elk River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study


March 19, 2009 Stakeholder Meeting Summary

Elk River Watershed Water bodies on the 2008 303(d) Impaired Waters List:

Water	Reach	Polluntant
Rice Creek	Rice Lake to Elk River	Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity
Elk River	Elk Lake to St. Francis River	Turbidity, Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Bio-assessments, Fecal Coliform
Elk River	Headwaters to Mississippi River	Mercury*
Mayhew Creek	Headwaters to Elk River	Aquatic Macroinvertebrate and Fish Bio-assessments
Battle Brook	Co. Ditch 18 to Elk Lake	Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Bio-assessments
Mayhew Lake	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)
Big Elk Lake	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)
Julia Lake	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)
Rush Lake	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)
Birch Lake	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)
Briggs Lake	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)
Lake Orono	N/A	Excess Nutrients (total phosphorus)

* State wide Mercury TMDL approved by EPA in March 2007

In order to address impaired waters in the Elk River Watershed, a Joint Powers Agreement between the MPCA and the ERWA was formed in 2008. Through this conglomeration of organizations a grant in the amount of $128,400 was awarded by the MPCA to the ERWA. Additionally, Wenck Associates Inc. was contracted to assist the ERWA in the development of TMDLs through a Master Contract with the MPCA. The Master Contract added an additional $123,581 to the grant total. The mentioned funds will provide the means to complete TMDLs on three of the waters on the 303(d) list over the next three years. TMDL waters include: Big Elk Lake (excess nutrients), Mayhew Lake (excess nutrients), and the Elk River from Big Elk Lake to the St. Francis River (turbidity and fecal Coliform).

The TMDLs will take place in three phases. Phase I will consist of a review of existing information which will aid in identifying data gaps and in developing plans for collecting additional information. Phase II consists of a stepped-up monitoring program identified with work completed in the phase prior. Finally, Phase III will identify and set the TMDL, or threshold, for the pollutants in each of the impaired water bodies and the development of an implementation plan.

Elk River TMDL Phase I Report


           
                 Above: All sites monitored within the Elk River Watershed in 2007. Monitoring in 2007 focused on fecal coliform
                 bacteria analysis as well as the analysis of nutrients in the Briggs chain of lakes.