North Fork Crow River Watershed
Overview
Watershed at-a-glance
The North Fork Crow River watershed covers 949,107 acres. The headwaters for the North Fork Crow River are located in Pope County at the outlet of Grove Lake. The river flows about 120 miles southeast from Grove Lake to the confluence with the South Fork Crow River in Rockford and on to the confluence with the Mississippi River near Dayton. The Middle Fork Crow River which joins the North Fork near Manannah is a major tributary to the North Fork Crow River. Parts of Pope, Kandiyohi, Stearns, Meeker and Wright counties are in this watershed. Major cities are Litchfield, St Michael, Buffalo, Otsego, Dayton and Rockford.
Monitoring and assessment reports
North Fork Crow River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report (wq-ws3-07010204b)
Assessment of Selected Lakes within the North Fork Crow River Watershed (Pope, Stearns, Kandiyohi, Meeker, McLeod, Wright, Hennepin Counties) (wq-ws3-07010204)
| Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) | 07010204 | [More Info] |
| Intensive monitoring start year | 2007 | [More Info] |
| Major lakes | Major rivers and streams |
|---|---|
|
Diamond, Green, Rice, Koronis |
Crow, Jewitts Creek Grove Creek, Mill Creek |
Characteristics
Land use in the North Fork Crow River watershed is mostly agricultural with the exception of the eastern portion that is metro fringe urban and commercial.
Many of lakes and reaches of the North Fork Crow River do not meet water quality standards for beneficial uses such as aquatic recreation, drinking, and swimming. The main lake pollutant is phosphorus, causing algae blooms in summer months, and reaches of the North Fork Crow River are listed for biological, bacteria, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity impairments.
What's being done
The biological monitoring began in 2007 as a pilot/demonstration project. Since then, additional field data have been collected to aid with assessment and stressor identification.
- Reports summarizing results of the biological data and stressor identification are in progress.
- A contract with the CROW has been executed for CE, data entry, field work, and development of the watershed restoration and protection plan.
- CROW subcontracted with a consultant for development of the TMDL document.
- A contract with consultant for the HSPF modeling has been executed.
- Local partners include CROW, NFCRWD, MFCRWD and Wright County LWP.
MPCA's watershed approach: Since 2007, the MPCA and its partners have begun implementing a 10-year rotation for watershed restoration plans to address Minnesota's waters at the major watershed level.
[+] See large map
Watershed News
Minnesota River Basin — Crow River Watershed Professionals Network
Communication among watershed organization staff enhances efforts to restore and protect water quality. The Minnesota River-Crow River Watershed Professionals Network is designed to help watershed professional staff share their experiences and learn how to make their outreach efforts more effective. The network provides a monthly e-newsletter and hosts meetings in the spring and fall.
Restoration and protection
The restoration and protection process
The MPCA and partner organizations evaluate water conditions, establish improvement goals and priorities, and take actions designed to restore or protect water quality on a 10-year cycle.
Monitoring and assessment
Projects in this watershed to test water quality conditions and determine whether our lakes, rivers, and wetlands are meeting state water quality standards. [More info]
| Project Name | Status |
|---|---|
| Crow River South Fork WS Restoration Protection |
|
| Crow River TMDL WQ Data Enrichment |
|
| Ducks Unlimited MN DNR Shallow Lake Wildlife Study |
|
| Enhancing Volunteer Monitoring in the Crow R WS |
|
| Green Lake Eurasian Watermilfoil/Stormwater Study |
|
| Middle Fork Crow River WS Enhancing Volunteer |
|
| North Fork Crow IWM Phase II |
|
| Pioneer-Sarah Creek Watershed Assessment |
|
| Surface Water Compliance at Closed Landfills |
|
| Three Rivers Park District |
|
| Upper Mississippi R Information Access Initiative |
|
| Wright County Citizens Lake Monitoring |
|
Data available for this watershed
Lakes and stream segments with condition and monitoring information
Lakes and streams are divided into "assessment units" for monitoring.
Impairments in this watershed listed by lake or stream segment
Generally, a waterbody has an impairment when it exceeds a particular pollutant standard.
Strategy development projects
Projects in this watershed that establish federal- or state-required plans for restoring water quality for impaired waters, or protecting high-quality waters. [More info]
Implementation activities
Projects in this watershed to put water restoration or protection measures in place, ranging from best management practices to reduce runoff from fields or streets, to fixes to wastewater treatment facilities, to education activities for citizens and landowners. Implementation projects are supported by local, state and federal government sources, including Minnesota's new Clean Water Fund.
Our partners in the watershed are continually involved in these kinds of activities. See Contacts tab.
| Project Name | Status |
|---|---|
| Chloride Winter Maintenance Trng & Certification |
|
| Crow River Basin Rural WQ Improvements |
|
| Crow River Basin Sediment Reduction |
|
| Crow River Middle Fork Watershed Restoration |
|
| Crow River Watershed Surface Water Runoff |
|
| Stormwater Mgmt Eco-Sensitive Watersheds |
|
| Upper Mississippi River Source Water Protection |
|
| Water Quality Improvement Continuation |
|
Water data tools
Search for your lake or stream's assessment data
See information about your local lake or stream.
DNR Lake Finder
Find information about 4500+ lakes, rivers, and streams
Search MPCA surface water data
Use this tool for accessing and comparing data in all surface waters.
Contacts
Maggie Leach, MPCA project manager
218-316-3895
margaret.leach@state.mn.us
Crow River Organization of Water (CROW)
Crow River Lakes and Streams Facebook page
Maps
Watershed Map
Many of Minnesota’s lakes and streams do not currently meet water-quality standards because of pollution such as excess sediment or nutrients, bacteria or mercury. These waters are considered “impaired.” For more information, visit the impaired waters page.
The toggles show impaired waters and monitoring stations. Click on a site for more information.
Impairments in this watershed, listed by lake or stream segment
Generally, a waterbody has an impairment when it exceeds a particular pollutant standard.
Twin Cities Metro Watersheds
Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Watersheds
The seven-county TCMA includes the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington. The TCMA watersheds also contain the area covered by the Metropolitan Area Surface Water Management Act (Minnesota Statutes 103B.201 to 255), which requires local units of government in the seven-county TCMA to prepare and implement comprehensive surface water management plans through membership in a watershed management organization (WMO). WMOs can be organized in three ways:
- as a joint powers agreement between the cities and townships within the watershed.
- as a watershed district.
- as a function of county government.
Most WMOs boundaries are hydrologically defined, and are at the 10- or 12-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) sub-watershed level. Some WMO boundaries are politically determined rather than hydrologically determined.
Projects may involve small portions of local or watershed plans such as neighborhood stormwater projects, be city- or watershed-wide projects to deal with identified impairments, or be regional or basin-wide projects dealing with problems such as chloride runoff in the TCMA watersheds from highway road salt or basin-wide runoff of nutrients affecting Lake St. Croix.
Additional information is also available on the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Watersheds page.
