Big Sandy Lake and Lake Minnewawa Total Maximum Daily Load Report

Big Sandy Lake and Lake Minnewawa are currently listed on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) 2008 303(d) Impaired Waters List due to excessive nutrients (phosphorus). Both lakes are located in Aitkin County, Minnesota and are within the Northern Lakes and Forests (NLF) ecoregion. The MPCA projected schedule for Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report completion, as indicated on Minnesota's 303(d) impaired waters list, implicitly reflects Minnesota's priority ranking of these TMDLs. The Big Sandy Lake and Lake Minnewawa TMDLs were scheduled to begin in 2006 and be complete in 2011. Ranking criteria for scheduling TMDL projects include, but are not limited to: impairment impacts on public health and aquatic life; public value of the impaired water resource; likelihood of completing the TMDL in an expedient manner; including a strong base of existing data and restorability of the waterbody; technical capability and willingness locally to assist with each TMDL; and appropriate sequencing of TMDLs within a watershed or basin. The historical growing season water quality for each lake is compared to the MPCA lake eutrophication standards for the NLF ecoregion below (Table EX-1).