Minnesota's Impaired Waters and TMDLs

TMDL Project: Fish Lake TMDL and Schwanz Lake Nutrient Management Plan - Excess Nutrients

Background

Fish and Schwanz Lakes, located in Eagan, Minnesota, are 29 and 12 acres respectively. The lakes and their surrounding drainage areas are in the Gun Club watershed. Both lakes are located in prominent city parks, which provide good public access for fishing, non-motorized boating, aesthetic enjoyment, and some swimming and wading.

In 2006, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) listed Fish and Schwanz Lakes as impaired for aquatic recreation under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The main cause for this impairment is excess nutrients in the lakes. Excess nutrients such as phosphorus from stormwater runoff create poor water quality conditions causing summer algal blooms, which limit recreational activities. Efforts by the city of Eagan have improved water quality to Schwanz Lake in recent years, and MPCA will likely remove the lake from the impaired waters list, although the city intends to implement additional water quality improvement projects.

The main objectives of this project are to determine the sources of the excess nutrients and to estimate the reductions in nutrient loadings that are needed in order for Fish Lake to meet the appropriate water quality standard and to improve water quality in Schwanz Lake. The end product of this project will be a Fish Lake Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Schwanz Lake Nutrient Management Report and Implementation Plan. The  city of Eagan worked with Bonestroo to prepare the reports for the MPCA.

Map and location

Fish and Schwanz Lakes are located in Eagan, in Dakota County in the southern Twin Cities metro area. The lakes lie in the Gun Club sub-watershed of the Lower Minnesota River watershed in the Minnesota River Basin.

• Fish Lake Watershed Map
• Schwanz Lake Watershed Map
• 2008 Map of Impaired Lakes in the Minnesota, Missouri, Des Moines River Basins

TMDL report and implementation plan

• Fact Sheet
• Final TMDL Report (wq-iw7-27e)
• EPA Approval Letter (September 9, 2010) (wq-iw7-27g)
• TMDL Implementation Plan (November 24, 2010) (wq-iw7-27c)

Other documents

• City of Eagan’s 2007 Water Quality and Wetland Management Plan

Meetings and events

None at this time

Links

• MPCA: Minnesota’s Impaired Waters and TMDLs
• Schwanz Lake (City of Eagan)
• Fish Lake (City of Eagan)
• Local Sponsor: City of Eagan
  • Lead Consultant: Bonestroo
• Gun Club Watershed Management Organization
• MPCA: Minnesota River Basin

Information contact

Barb Peichel
TMDL/Watershed Project Manager
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-757-2646
barbara.peichel@state.mn.us

Eric Macbeth
Water Resources Coordinator
City of Eagan
3501 Coachman Point
Eagan, Minnesota 55122
651- 675-5300
emacbeth@cityofeagan.com