The Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) is a partnership including state and federal agencies, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, state universities, and local partners across Minnesota. Since 2007, the network of partners has collected data to understand long-term trends and observe changes over time.
Why do we sample?
Clean water is a hallmark of a thriving Minnesota. The network provides data that can help protect Minnesota's waters and restore waters in degraded condition. Local partners then use the data for planning and to implement the best strategies in priority locations. The network also tracks pollutant trend information and provides educational materials for Minnesota residents.
Where and when do we sample?
The network collects 18-25 samples per season from 200 sites ranging from small streams to the largest rivers in Minnesota. Subwatershed sites are sampled from ice-out to October 31 while other sites are sampled year-round.
What do we sample for?
A pollutant load is the amount of a pollutant that passes a monitoring station over a period of time. Scientists use this data to calculate pollutant concentrations to track the health of a stream or river. Data are collected for a standard set of key pollutants, including suspended solids, nitrates, and phosphorus.
What data is available?
Each monitoring site is equipped with a datalogger that tracks water levels and precipitation. Pollutant information is also available for each site.
WPLMN data viewer
The WPLMN data viewer shows daily, annual, and period average water quality data from sites around the state. There's a two-year delay between data collection and publication to allow for data analysis and review.
Resources
Partners
Organizations that participate in water quality monitoring:
- Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District
- Hawk Creek Watershed Project
- International Water Institute
- Itasca County Soil and Water Conservation District
- Koochiching County Soil and Water Conservation District
- Lake of the Woods Soil and Water Conservation District
- Metropolitan Council Environmental Services
- McLeod Soil and Water Conservation District
- Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District
- Mille Lacs Soil and Water Conservation District
- Minnesota North College - Vermilion
- MN State University - Mankato, Water Resources Center
- North Fork Crow River Watershed District
- Natural Resources Research Institute - University of Minnesota
- Olmsted Soil and Water Conservation District
- Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area
- Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District
- Sibley Soil and Water Conservation District