Fecal Coliform TMDL Assessment for 21 Impaired Streams in the Blue Earth River Basin

The Blue Earth River Basin (BERB) is located across portions of 14 counties in southcentral
Minnesota and Northern Iowa. The basin includes three major watersheds, the
Blue Earth, Le Sueur and Watonwan. The BERB contains 3,364 miles of streams and
rivers and 3,374 miles of public drainage (719 miles of public open ditch and 2,665 miles
of public tile). The 3,540 square mile BERB includes all or portions of 51 municipalities,
the largest being Fairmont, St. James, Blue Earth and Mankato. The estimated human
population is 92,202, with 60% living in cities and 40% in rural areas. Agricultural
landuse comprises approximately 88% of the landscape, with corn and soybeans the
primary crop types. The BERB has just over 2,300 feedlot facilities, with swine as the
major livestock type. It is estimated that over 2.2 million swine are raised in the basin.