Minnesota: Clearwater River Managing Agricultural Drainage Reduces Bacteria in River

Nonpoint sources of 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.