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The MPCA works with city and county governments, watershed districts, consultants, and others on monitoring, protecting, and restoring water quality. This is a repository of guidance and technical resources for agency partners.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) reflect how agency staff and contracted partners complete agency-funded field activities.
In karst landscapes, the distinction between groundwater and surface water is blurry.
An index of biological integrity (IBI) is a particularly powerful tool that provides an accurate measure of the condition of the biological communities and are a direct determinant of the attainment of aquatic life uses.
The AQI was developed to provide a simple, uniform way to report daily air quality conditions.
We come from the stars Nibi Walks: A prayer for the water
The MPCA has important roles in protecting and restoring waters in degraded conditions.
The MPCA studies, monitors, and regulates water pollutants to protect human health and the environment. Minnesota water quality standards strives to protect water for use, measures health of waters, and guides limits on what regulated facilities can discharge to surface waters.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, states must designate beneficial uses for all waters and develop water quality standards to protect each use.
Protecting and restoring water quality is one of the MPCA's core areas of focus.
Clean Water Fund dollars come from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment that Minnesotans approved in 2008.
The MPCA 401 certification fills a unique niche in protecting water quality by applying state water quality standards to projects.
The Clean Water Council was created to advise the Legislature and the Governor on the administration and implementation of the 2006 Clean Water Legacy Act
Water quality trading is a market-based approach to the protection and restoration of surface waters, another tool to be used in conjunction with existing voluntary, regulatory, and financial assistance programs.
The MPCA studies, monitors, and regulates numerous water pollutants to protect human health and the environment. At the state level, three agencies share the monitoring and control of pollutants:…
State and federal permits and regulations that are designed to protect groundwater and surface water (lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands) apply to specific facilities and processes that could pose…
Climate adaptation is about developing strategies to help human and natural systems become more resilient to the effects of climate change.
The Clean Water Act established the framework for creating water quality standards and continues to help us protect Minnesota's prized lakes and rivers.
From January through March 2025, MPCA air monitoring data showed elevated lead levels that exceeded national ambient air quality standards near the facility. An MPCA inspection of Gopher Resource this spring confirms that the source of the elevated lead levels has been addressed.
The MPCA monitors and assesses lakes around the state to determine if they meet water quality standards.