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The Red River of the North - Sand Hill River Watershed covers 708,469 acres and is part of the Red River Basin in northwestern Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota.

The Buffalo River Watershed covers more than 1,100 square miles in portions of Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, and Wilkin counties.

The Mississippi River - Headwaters watershed consists of 1,255,105 acres (1,961 square miles) and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca in Itasca State Park. The watershed includes parts of Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard and Itasca counties.

The Big Fork River Watershed covers 1,326,947 acres that include some of the state’s most pristine wilderness. The river flows north 165 miles from Dora Lake (45 miles northeast of Bemidji in north-central Itasca County) to the Rainy River, which forms the Minnesota-Canada border.

This watershed is located in the southeastern tip of Minnesota, known for its scenic bluffs. More than 900,000 acres drain to the Mississippi River at Reno, Minn., but only 117,000 of those acres are in Minnesota.

This Winnebago River consists of a stream and lake system in southern Minnesota that flows into Iowa. The water resources here face several water quality challenges, including high nutrient and bacteria levels.

The Mississippi River - St. Cloud watershed covers 691,200 acres (1,080 square miles) in the south-central part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The watershed includes all or parts of the counties of Benton, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright.

The Upper Red River watershed drains an area of 371,689 acres in the Glacial Lake Agassiz Plain, while the extreme southeastern portion of the basin lies in the North Central Hardwoods ecoregion. The Red River begins its course just below Breckenridge, Minn.

The Cloquet River watershed covers approximately 507,858 acres (794 square miles) and is located within portions of Lake and St. Louis Counties in northeastern Minnesota.

Located in south-central Minnesota, the Le Sueur River flows 111 miles through a gently rolling landscape, most of it farmland, until it cuts down through high bluffs to the Blue Earth River.

The Leech Lake River watershed consists of approximately 854,659 acres (1,335 sq. miles) in the northern part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The watershed includes parts of Beltrami, Cass, and Hubbard counties and the Leech Lake Reservation (Leech Lake Band of Chippewa).

Streams of the Upper St. Croix Watershed are among the most biologically intact, healthy, and resilient of watersheds in Minnesota.

The Blue Earth River begins in northern Iowa and meets with the West Branch Blue Earth River in Faribault County. The watershed includes parts of eight counties in southern Minnesota and four in northern Iowa.

The Lake Superior - South watershed covers 402,371 acres.

The Snake River begins its 50-mile course in Marshall County and drains an area of 611,800 acres. The Snake River Watershed lies within Marshall, Polk, and Pennington Counties in NW Minnesota.

The Mississippi River - Sartell watershed covers approximately 652,800 acres (1,020 sq. miles) in the central part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The watershed includes parts of Benton, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Stearns, and Todd counties.

The Mustinka River begins its course southwest of Fergus Falls in southwestern Otter Tail County and flows toward the south into Grant County, where it continues through Stony Brook Lake and Lightning Lake.

The chemical 1,4-dioxane, a likely carcinogen, was detected in a private residential well in the Eastbrook Terrace area in Andover.

The Lake of the Woods lies on the border between the U.S. and Canada; the watershed covers 734,783 acres.

The Snake River watershed is located north of the Twin Cities in the St. Croix River Basin and encompasses 1,006 square miles in five counties: Aitkin, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine, and Isanti.