Minnesota's Impaired Waters and TMDLs

TMDL Project: Upper Mississippi River - Bacteria

Background

A large number of Minnesotans rely on the Mississippi River for recreational activities and drinking water. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has identified several Mississippi River reaches from St. Cloud to St. Paul as impaired for bacteria. The Upper Mississippi River Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Project that will address these impairments may include parts of nine counties and 32 cities. The MPCA and Minnesota Department of Health are partnering to lead this project in close coordination with area land and watershed management organizations, cities and counties, and agencies to develop a TMDL report and implementation plan. The ultimate goal of this project is to improve and restore the water quality of the Upper Mississippi River.

Minnesota’s water quality standard for E. coli bacteria in streams is 126 organisms per 100 ml (milliliters) of water. Testing for pathogens in water bodies is difficult, so indicator organisms such as E. coli bacteria are used to indicate the likelihood that a river contains disease-causing pathogens. E. coli comes from human, livestock, pet, and wildlife waste. Bacteria can be transferred to water bodies from stormwater systems, areas with field-applied manure fertilizer or storage, non-compliant septic systems, connected water bodies, or feedlots. 

The process for conducting the TMDL study will consist of evaluating the water quality problem, determining the sources of the pollutant, allocating pollutant loads to sources and areas, and developing a plan for implementing activities to restore water quality.

Map and location

 This project includes mainstem Mississippi River reaches from St. Cloud to St. Paul, in the Mississippi River - Twin Cities watershed of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

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• Map of Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Project Area (2008) 
  
  
• Map of Upper Mississippi River Basin Impairments: Conventional Parameters (2008)
•  Monitoring Station Map 1: Mississippi River (St. Cloud & Sartell) (wq-iw8-08ma)
•  Monitoring Station Map 2: Mississippi River (Twin Cities) (wq-iw8-08mb)

TMDL report and implementation plan

Status: Work began on the Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Project in March 2008 and it is currently estimated that the TMDL Report and Implementation Plan will be completed by 2012.

• Fact sheet

Other documents

• Effectiveness of Best Management Practices for Bacteria Removal (wq-iw8-08q)
• Data Analysis, Source Assessment, and Monitoring Recommendations Report for the Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL
• Literature Review of Bacteria and Environmental Associations
• MPCA Fact Sheet - Bacteria: Sources, Types, and Impact on Water Quality
• Draft Work Plan - Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Project
• Minnesota Department of Health Fact Sheet - Beaches and Recreational Waters in MN: Waterborne Pathogens
• Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Project Presentation (wq-iw8-08s.pdf)

Meetings and events

• November 30, 2011 - A meeting with stakeholders and regulated MS4s for the Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Project, offering an overview of the project and technical discussion.
  
  • Webcast: Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL project
  • Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL Project — Regulated MS4 Meeting (wq-iw8-08r.pdf)

• May 10, 2011 - Joint Twin Cities Metro and St. Cloud Stakeholder Advisory Team and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Elk River City Hall, 13065 Orono Parkway, Elk River, MN 55330
  
  • Agenda and Meeting Notes (wq-iw8-08n)
  • Presentations (wq-iw8-08p)
    

• October 6, 2009 - Joint Twin Cities Metro and St. Cloud Stakeholder Advisory Team and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, 9:00 a.m.-12 p.m., Elk River City Hall, 13065 Orono Parkway, Elk River, MN 55330
  • Agenda and Meeting Notes
  • Presentations

• June 12, 2009 - Joint Twin Cities Metro and St. Cloud Stakeholder Advisory Team and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, 9:00 a.m.-12 p.m., Elk River City Hall, 13065 Orono Parkway, Elk River, MN 55330
  • Agenda and Meeting Notes
  • Presentation: Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL: Project Overview (Phil Votruba and Barb Peichel)
  • Presentation: Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL: Data Analysis (Andrea Plevan)
  • Presentation: Evaluation of Nutrient and Bacterial Transport from Manure Applied Lands (Scott Matteson)

• August 26, 2008 - St. Cloud-Sauk River-Crow River Basin Planning Advisory Committee Meeting, 1 to 3:30 p.m., St. Cloud Holiday Inn
  
  
• July 22, 2008 - Joint Metro Stakeholder Advisory Team and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55411
  • Agenda
  • Meeting Notes
  • Presentation: "Overview of the Upper Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL" (Barb Peichel)
  • Presentation: "Lessons Learned from the Lower Mississippi River Bacteria TMDL"  (Lee Ganske)

See the TMDL Meetings, Events and News page for notices of general interest and event-related information on impaired waters/TMDLs.

Links

• MPCA: Upper Mississippi River Basin
• MPCA: Minnesota’s Impaired Waters and TMDLs
• Minnesota Department of Health
• Upper Mississippi River Source Water Protection Project
• University of Minnesota E. coli Source Tracking Research
• Lake Superior Beach Monitoring Program

Information contact

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

Phil Votruba, Project Manager
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
7678 College Road, Suite 105
Baxter, MN 56425
218-316-3901
phil.votruba@state.mn.u