Lake Nutrient TMDL for Jessie Lake

Section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to identify water bodies that do not meet water quality standards and to develop total maximum daily pollutant loads for those water bodies. A total maximum daily load (TMDL) is the amount of a pollutant that a water body can assimilate without exceeding the established water quality standard for that pollutant. Through a TMDL, pollutant loads are allocated to permitted and non-permitted sources within the watershed that discharge to the water body. This TMDL study prepared by Wenck Associates, Inc. for the Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District (Itasca SWCD), addresses the nutrient impairment in Jessie Lake (DNR# 31-0786). The goal of this TMDL is to quantify the pollutant reductions needed to meet State water quality standards for nutrients in Jessie Lake and the endpoint proposed in this TMDL. Jessie Lake is one of 950 lakes located in Itasca County. The total drainage area of the sub-watersheds draining to the Jessie Lake is approximately 29.7 square miles, excluding the lake surface which is 2.69 square miles.