Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Technical Contact: Norman Senjem, 507-280-3592 Toll-free: 1-800-657-3864 Rochester, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will host "Celebrate Lake Pepin," a water-quality awareness event, on Sunday, May 15, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Hok-Si-La Park in Lake City, Minn. The celebration is open to the public and there is no charge for admission. A 1:00 p.m. program will feature welcoming comments by MPCA Commissioner Sheryl Corrigan, a Lake Pepin water quality project overview by MPCA basin coordinator Norman Senjem and a keynote address by Kenny Salwey, celebrated author of, "The Last River Rat." Participants will also have an opportunity to take a tour of Lake Pepin aboard "Maggie," an open-air boat captained by Bob Schleicher from Red Wing. Additional activities on land include a "Birds of Prey" presentation by the Coulee Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources watercraft inspection demonstrations, birding hikes around the Hok-Si-La grounds and live music by Lake City's own "High Street Strings." Food will be available for purchase from Huettl's Meats. The Lake Pepin watershed is on the Minnesota list of impaired waters. Pollution concerns include poor water clarity and high nutrient levels. The watershed covers approximately 55 percent of Minnesota's total land area as well as a portion of western Wisconsin, making the Lake Pepin water quality improvement project the largest project of its kind ever undertaken by the MPCA. The Celebrate Lake Pepin event marks the completion of the work plan development phase of the project. With the work plan in place, the project will now move forward to data collection, modeling and eventually to placing limits on pollutant levels entering the watershed. For more information on water quality improvement projects, also known as Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies, visit the MPCA Web site at:/water/tmdl/index.html For additional information about the Lake Pepin project visit http://www.celebratelakepepin.org