Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Jennifer Groebner, 651-296-7706 St. Paul, Minn. -- Since receiving a Clean Water Partnership grant, the Hawk Creek Watershed was able to complete 197 water quality improvement projects that affected 5,177 acres of land and reduced phosphorus pollution by 3,367 pounds per year. The Hawk Creek project is only one of the 45 projects chronicled in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) 2007 Watershed Achievements Report. Organized by basin, the report summarizes progress made in addressing nonpoint-source pollution through projects funded under Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act and the MPCA's Clean Water Partnership Program from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. Each project summary includes history and objectives, water quality outcomes, financial and contact information. Projects range statewide and include those in the following basins: Des Moines River, Lake Superior, Lower Mississippi River, Minnesota River, St. Croix River, Red River and Upper Mississippi River. The full report can be found on the MPCA's Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/cwp-319.html#report. Request a copy by contacting Jenni DeZelar, MPCA, at 651-297-8509 or toll-free at 1-800-657-3864. Hawk Creek Watershed Project
One of the major watersheds of the Minnesota River, the Hawk Creek Watershed, drains 623,424 acres or about 974 square miles of land. Agriculture with extensive drainage is the primary land use, and as a result, an estimated 98 percent of the original wetlands in the watershed have been drained to increase agricultural opportunities. Project manager Darrell Schindler said that concern about suspected and known water quality issues in the Hawk Creek Watershed prompted a group of concerned citizens and local, state and federal representatives from the three counties in the watershed to begin meeting in February 1997. Since then, Schindler said, "the organization has cost-shared conservation projects with more than 400 landowners, and measurable reductions in both sediment and phosphorus levels have been seen in some of the sub-watersheds." The ultimate goal of the Hawk Creek Watershed Project is to implement land use changes that improve water quality and quantity issues in the area while also promoting a healthy agricultural, industrial and recreation-based economy for the region. "Hawk Creek would not be nearly as successful without effective partnerships, and the Clean Water Partnership funding is a key component to achieving watershed-wide goals," Schindler said. The Hawk Creek project has been given $358,690 in grant funding. To the Editor: Information and photographs of other individual projects may be available.