Search
State agencies, counties, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and many others are engaged in protecting Minnesota lakes.
Whether they are called sloughs, swamps, bogs, or potholes, these are all wetlands and they provide many environmental benefits and contribute to watershed health. Though Minnesota has lost almost half of its wetland acreage over time, the quality of the remaining wetlands is good overall.
The Lake of the Woods lies on the border between the U.S. and Canada; the watershed covers 734,783 acres.
The Red Lake River Watershed, which covers 909,024 acres, is part of the Red River Basin in northwestern Minnesota. The Red Lake River begins its course in Beltrami County at Lower Red Lake.
The Rainy River - Rainy Lake Watershed covers 583,791 acres. Open water makes up 75,815 of those acres and wetlands occupy another 84,851 acres. The watershed is 64% in St. Louis County and 36% in Koochiching County. The northern boundary is part of the international border waters with Ontario, Canada.
The Upper/Lower Red Lake Watershed covers more than 1.2 million acres and is home to Upper and Lower Red Lakes, the two largest bodies of water within the state.
The MPCA issued a new air quality permit for this manufacturing facility in White Bear Township.
We Are Water next visits Ely April 24 through June 16.
The Lake Superior - North Watershed covers over 1 million acres in the Northern Lakes and Forest ecoregion.
The MPCA has actively been developing methods and building capacity to improve our ability to monitor and assess wetlands to protect and restore them.
The MPCA 401 certification fills a unique niche in protecting water quality by applying state water quality standards to projects.
We Are Water next visits Ortonville and the Big Stone Lake area March 15 through April 21.
Throughout her life, Jen Widmer has felt a deep connection to wetlands. As a child, she played broomball on the ice of a wetland near her home. She once attempted swimming in the wetland but was…
Implementing water quality standards come with tangible costs and benefits. Costs such as taxes to residents, regulated parties, and communities help achieve benefits such as increased property values, tourism, and protecting human health.
Clean Water Partnership loans help local units of government fund projects that protect and restore water quality in lakes, streams, and groundwater aquifers.
State and federal permits and regulations that are designed to protect groundwater and surface water (lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands) apply to specific facilities and processes that could pose…
The MPCA has important roles in protecting and restoring waters in degraded conditions.
The MPCA proposes to adopt the U.S. EPA's 2013 national recommended water quality criteria for ammonia as its Class 2 ammonia water quality standards for the protection of aquatic life.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) reflect how agency staff and contracted partners complete agency-funded field activities.
Every two years, MPCA creates a list of impaired waters in the state that do not meet water quality standards.