Sand Hill River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Load Study

Section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to identify water bodies that do not meet water quality standards (Minn. R. 7050.022) and to develop total maximum daily pollutant loads for those water bodies. A total maximum daily load (TMDL) project results in an estimate of the amount of a pollutant that a water body can assimilate without exceeding the established water quality standard for that pollutant. Through a TMDL, pollutant loads are allocated to point and nonpoint sources within the watershed that discharge to the water body. The Sand Hill River Watershed (SHRW) Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 09020301, located in northwest Minnesota, comprises over 486 square miles and includes portions of Polk, Norman, and Mahnomen Counties. Flow direction in the SHRW is generally east to west. Flow enters the Red River of the North and proceeds north to the U.S.–Canada border. Land use within the watershed is predominantly agricultural.