Lower Minnesota River Dissolved Oxygen Total Maximum Daily Load Report

Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Water Quality Planning and Management Regulations require states to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for water bodies not meeting water quality standards. The TMDL process establishes the allowable loading of pollutants for a waterbody based on the relationship between pollutant sources and in-stream water quality conditions. The development of a TMDL Report provides states a basis for determining the pollutant reductions necessary from point and nonpoint sources to restore and maintain the quality of their water resources. The purpose of this TMDL Report is to identify the allowable levels of phosphorus that will result in the attainment of the dissolved oxygen standard in the lower 22 miles of the Minnesota River during low flow conditions. The low dissolved oxygen problem occurs during low flow conditions in this stretch of the Minnesota River.