Water story: Clearwater River gets cleaner

Farmers and watershed district work to clean up river

Nonpoint sources of pollution, such as livestock operations, wildlife, and drainage from wild rice paddies, contributed high levels of bacteria in Minnesota's Clearwater River, violating water quality standards. Project partners worked to reduce bacteria levels by planting buffer strips, stabilizing streambanks, and improving the drainage of wild rice paddies. As a result, the MPCA removed the 58-mile segment of Clearwater River from the state's 2010 impaired waters list.

The problem?

The Clearwater River watershed has been extensively drained, and the former tallgrass prairie has been converted to farmland and urban/suburban development.

As a result, the basin is subject to frequent floods. In the 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channelized approximately 38 miles of the Clearwater River to reduce flood damage to agricultural areas. This alteration of the river increased streambank erosion, which in turn lad to increased sediment in the river.

 In 2002, the MPCA added a 58-mile segment of Clearwater River (from Ruffy Brook to the Lost River) to Minnesota's impaired waters list for high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. Nonpoint sources of fecal coliform included livestock operations, wildlife, and drainage from wild rice paddies along the river. Hydrologic modification also contributed to pollution problems. This segment was also listed in 2002 as impaired for dissolved oxygen.

Taking action to clean up the river

The Clearwater County and Red Lake County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) worked with farmers throughout the watershed to implement best management practices (BMPs), such as residue management, grazing management, nutrient management, grade control structures, side water inlets, streambank protection, and grassed waterways. The SWCDs worked with local farmers with lands adjacent to the river to install vegetated buffer strips along the river to minimize erosion and to filter runoff. Farmers also modified stretches of ditches to trap sediment. In 2001, farmers used CWA section 319 grant funds to install erosion control and streambank stabilization BMPs at key sites in the watershed. A number of wild rice growers along the Clearwater Rive worked to reduce the amount of sediment and waterfowl manure leaving the paddies.

From 2007 to 2009, the Red Lake Watershed District, with support from the MPCA, conducted a total maximum daily load (TMDL) study to assess impairments, define sources and loads of pollutants, estimate the reductions in pollutants needed to meet water quality standards, and propose strategies to achieve the desired reductions. All water samples collected within this time met the state's E. coli water quality standard. In 2010, based on these results, the MPCA removed the 58-mile segment from the state's list of impaired waters for bacteria. Stakeholders continue to set pollution reduction goals to further improve water quality and are developing a Clearwater River Protection Plan to coordinate these efforts. The segment remains listed as impaired for dissolved oxygen.

Working together

The success of the project was the result of coordination among local, state and federal agencies. The phase 1 study was completed by the Red Lake Watershed District (RLWD) and HDR Engineering and was sponsored by the RLWD and local soil and water conservation districts. The implementation phase was also administered and implemented by the RLWD. In 2001, a $134,500 Clean Water Act section 319 grant funded stream bank stabilization projects in the watershed. CWA section 319 funds also supported the MPCA staff who served in an advisory role throughout the life of this project. State funding provided additional support, including an $852,541 loan from Minnesota's Clean Water Partnership in 1996 and 2001, and a grant of $100,000 from the 2007 Clean Water Legacy state appropriation.