Assessment Report of Selected Lakes Within the Pomme de Terre River Watershed

Document
Description
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) conducts and supports lake monitoring for a variety of objectives. Staff within the MPCA's Lakes and Streams Monitoring Unit sample approximately 100 lakes per year, coordinate citizen volunteer monitoring through the Citizen Lake Monitoring Program, and manage Surface Water Assessment Grants given to local groups to monitor lake and stream water quality. Watershed-based monitoring emphasizes large lakes (500 acres or greater) whenever possible. All water quality data from these activities are compared to state water quality standards to determine if a given lake is fully supporting or not supporting standards set for recreational use (e.g., swimming, wading, etc.). Lakes not supporting aquatic recreational use are termed "impaired" and are placed on a list biennially. This list is formally termed the 303(d) list (referencing the section within the federal Clean Water Act that requires us to assess for condition); it is also commonly called the "Impaired Waters List". A lake placed on the Impaired Waters List is required to be intensively researched through a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study to determine the source and extent of the pollution problem. The study also requires the development of a restoration plan. For unimpaired waters, a protection plan will be developed following the assessment process. It should be noted that a great deal of lake monitoring is also carried out by various other MPCA staff and local groups who are undertaking TMDL studies or other, special projects. The Pomme de Terre River (HUC 8) Watershed spans seven counties in western Minnesota, eight subwatersheds (HUC 11), and has a total of 217 established lake basins. This report includes a summary of lake water quality related information on the Pomme de Terre River Watershed. It also includes details on each of sub-watershed (HUC 11). Thirty lakes in the Pomme de Terre Watershed have some level of assessment data. Individual lakes summaries were included only on the 11 lakes that have two years of assessment level data (Table 1). Eleven lakes have been fully assessed against water quality standards set for aquatic recreation and the findings indicate that seven fully support aquatic recreational uses and four do not. Nineteen lakes have some water quality data, but the datasets have insufficient data to allow assessment.
Date Issued
2010-11
Number of Pages
83
Decade
Author
Publisher
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Rights Holder
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Rights Management
Public Domain