LeSueur River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report

This assessment report is the first in a series of reports for watershed work being conducted in the LeSueur River watershed. The results of surface water monitoring activities in the LeSueur River watershed are reported here. Subsequent reports will explain stressor identification, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), and restoration and protection plans for the watershed. Despite past improvements to point source discharges and land conservation efforts taken to improve water quality, both point and non-point sources of pollution continue to be pervasive and impact surface water quality in the watershed. Land use modification and hydrologic alteration including drainage and field tiling may be contributing factors to the observed poor water quality conditions. While some areas of the watershed have shown more resilience than others, additional monitoring, restoration, and protection strategies are needed to improve conditions and attain water quality standards. Considering that the problems are so ubiquitous, strategies for restoration should be targeted to areas that will yield the greatest amount of environmental improvement from implementation investments.