Final Lake of the Woods Excess Nutrients Total Maximum Daily Load

Minnesota's portion of the LoW does not meet water quality standards because of excessive total phosphorus (TP) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations (related to nuisance algal blooms) and violation of the Secchi disk (transparency) standard. Phosphorus (P) is the focus of this TMDL study because it drives a wide array of lake biological responses that affect beneficial uses. The TMDL Restoration Area was defined as the portion of the TMDL Study Area both within the U.S. and not in the Rainy Lake drainage area. Because study period TP concentrations of outflow from Rainy Lake to the Rainy River are well below the river eutrophication standard for the Rainy River, and because the Rainy Lake Watershed is relatively undeveloped, no reductions are proposed for the Rainy Lake Watershed in this TMDL study.