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The MPCA uses the Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) to store water quality data from more than 17,000 Minnesota sampling locations.
The MPCA monitors and assesses lakes around the state to determine if they meet water quality standards.
State agencies, counties, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and many others are engaged in protecting Minnesota lakes.
Surface water assessment grants (SWAG) provide local organizations and citizen volunteers with funds to complete the monitoring needed to meet assessment requirements on Minnesota lakes and streams. Assessment is usually the first step in protecting or restoring surface waters.
From the days when raw sewage flowed into rivers and lakes, Minnesota’s water bodies have come a long way. However, there is still work to be done in the restoration and protection of our waters.
Image Although Minnesota is rich in lakes and streams, Lake Superior is easily the most spectacular waterbody in Minnesota. Despite its immense size…
We Are Water next visits Ely April 24 through June 16.
The MPCA is currently recruiting volunteers to measure water clarity in numerous lakes and streams across the state and then report the data back to the agency.
Profile of Karl Scheuer, a volunteer with the MPCA's Volunteer Water Monitoring Program
This long-term data gathering initiative helps track trends in water bodies around the state. The MPCA is grateful for every volunteer who has dedicated time to monitoring their favorite lake or stream.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) reflect how agency staff and contracted partners complete agency-funded field activities.
The MPCA studies, monitors, and regulates water pollutants to protect human health and the environment. Minnesota water quality standards strives to protect water for use, measures health of waters, and guides limits on what regulated facilities can discharge to surface waters.
A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that drains off of it goes into the same place — a river, stream or lake.
The MPCA studies, monitors, and regulates numerous water pollutants to protect human health and the environment. At the state level, three agencies share the monitoring and control of pollutants:the…
The Lake of the Woods lies on the border between the U.S. and Canada; the watershed covers 734,783 acres.
The MPCA works with city and county governments, watershed districts, consultants, and others on monitoring, protecting, and restoring water quality. This is a repository of guidance and technical resources for agency partners.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, states must designate beneficial uses for all waters and develop water quality standards to protect each use.
The MPCA is authorized to develop numeric water quality criteria that apply specifically to a water body or region where the pollutant is found, using data from that water body or region.
The MPCA 401 certification fills a unique niche in protecting water quality by applying state water quality standards to projects.
For more than 50 years, volunteers have gathered critically important water clarity data on Minnesota lakes and streams.