Contact: Steve Mikkelson, 218-316-3887
Brainerd, Minn.— The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recently released a water quality monitoring and assessment report for the Buffalo River watershed. The Buffalo River runs from Tamarac Lake in eastern Becker County, and flows nearly 90 miles into Clay County, where it enters the Red River of the North near Georgetown.
Comprehensive surface water monitoring in the Buffalo River watershed began in 2009. The focus of the monitoring was to characterize the fish, macroinvertebrates, habitat and water chemistry of the river and streams in the watershed and water chemistry in lakes. More than 70 river and stream sites and 41 lakes were sampled.
Overall, the results of the monitoring-and-assessment process reveal that the Buffalo River watershed is in poor condition. Land use and development in the region appear to be adding sediment and pollutants to the watershed’s rivers, streams and lakes.
To view the monitoring and assessment report, visit the MPCA’s Buffalo River watershed webpage. This report is one of about 80 being developed by the MPCA for all of Minnesota’s major watersheds over the next decade.
With dollars provided by the Clean Water Fund (from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment), the MPCA conducts and oversees a variety of surface-water-monitoring activities that support its mission of helping Minnesotans protect the environment. To be successful in preventing and addressing problems, good information is needed about the status of Minnesota’s waters, potential and actual threats, options for addressing the threats, and data on how effective management actions have been. The MPCA’s monitoring efforts are focused on providing that critical information.
