Report to the Minnesota State Legislature: Definitions and Thresholds for Negative Impacts to Surface Waters

Report to the Minnesota State Legislature: Definitions and Thresholds for Negative Impacts to Surface Waters

2016-01

This report was prepared in response to Laws 2015, chapter 4, article 4, which directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to consult with interested stakeholders and develop recommendations for statutory or rule definitions and thresholds for negative impacts to surface waters. The DNR is charged with managing water resources to assure an adequate and sustainable supply for multiple uses. Minnesota has a modified riparian water law system, in which landowners have the right to make reasonable use of the abutting surface waters or the groundwater beneath their land, as defined and regulated by the water appropriation permitting program. The water itself is a public trust resource, and the state grants the right to water beyond personal use – above 10,000 gallons per day or one million gallons per year – through water appropriation permits. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that Minnesota’s water resources, while abundant in many areas, are not unlimited. In some areas, increasing water withdrawals are using more groundwater than is naturally being recharged. In other areas, groundwater supplies are limited due to the underlying geology. Groundwater contamination is also a limiting factor in many areas. The variability of Minnesota’s climate and geography mean that rainfall is not always available in the quantities we need at the times when it is most needed. Increasing demands on both surface water and groundwater supplies can cause negative impacts to the ecosystems and riparian uses of streams, lakes, and wetlands. While water levels fluctuate naturally throughout the year and across multiple years, water appropriations can push low levels lower, significantly reducing stream flows and more frequently putting fish, wildlife, plant communities and riparian uses at risk. This report examines the effects of groundwater use on rivers and streams, lakes, and wetlands. DNR’s analysis and recommendations are based on the fact that surface water bodies go through seasonal and multi-year cycles of high and low water levels. The seasonal patterns, known as the seasonal hydrograph, are primary drivers in creating and maintaining the unique ecology and associated aquatic and riparian habitats of each water body. To preserve the seasonal hydrograph, protected flows must be established for streams, and protection elevations for lakes and some wetlands. These protection levels can then be translated into a quantity of water that can be sustainably withdrawn. Multi-year dry cycles and extreme droughts also serve important ecological functions, but may require a different approach to determining sustainable water use—e.g., water use that is ecologically sustainable under the normal seasonal hydrograph may need to be reduced during extreme drought. This report was prepared with input from a broad range of stakeholders, as described in the Introduction and Appendix A. This report also incorporates and summarizes scientific studies, including an examination of approaches used in other states and countries. The recommendations in this report represent the DNR’s suggestions to further define and describe methods of determining protected flows and protection elevations. These recommendations are based on the DNR’s assessment of available information, analytical tools and the practicality of applying them in Minnesota.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (St. Paul, Minnesota)

58

Surface Water

Tresholds
Negative impacts

2010-2019

No

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