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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 Mississippi River - Brainerd Watershed covers over 1 million acres in the north-central part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin in central Minnesota. The watershed encompasses all or parts of Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, and Todd counties.

Within the three major watersheds that cover the Twin Cities area, there are 33 smaller watersheds managed by their own watershed district or watershed management organization.

The Duluth Urban Area Watershed is a focused geographic area designed to recognize the complexity and challenges in an urban center with a water-rich environment. It is defined by a series of small watersheds that are portions of three major watersheds.

The Mississippi River - Grand Rapids Watershed covers 1,3 million acres and contains 1,908 miles of stream/rivers and 552 lakes greater than 10 acres. The watershed drainage comprises parts of the counties of Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Itasca, and St. Louis.

Addressing excess nutrient levels in Lake Pepin based on the site-specific water quality eutrophication criteria for the lake developed by the MPCA.

Status of total maximum daily load (TMDL) projects in Minnesota.

The Long Prairie River Watershed covers approximately 565,078 acres and is located in the central part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin in central Minnesota. The watershed encompasses parts of Douglas, Otter Tail, Todd, Morrison and Wadena counties.

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.

Thirty TMDLs undertaken in the Mississippi River - Twin Cities Watershed to address excess nutrients, turbidity, bacteria, and more.

The Mississippi River - Headwaters Watershed consists of 1.26 million 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 Mississippi River - Twin Cities Watershed is 656,990 acres and lies almost entirely in the North Central Hardwoods Forest ecoregion in the Mississippi River Basin. The watershed contains 1,320 stream miles and 380 lakes. More than 1.8 million people live in this watershed.

The Mississippi River - Winona Watershed covers 419,200 acres in the southeast Minnesota counties of Wabasha, Winona, and Olmsted. A majority of the watershed is cropland, with forest and grassland covering large portions as well.

The Mississippi River - La Crescent Watershed drains 95 square miles in Houston and southeast Winona counties, an area defined by wooded bluffs and spring-fed cold-water streams that flow directly to the Mississippi River.

The Lower Minnesota River Watershed includes the lowest reach of the Minnesota River and flows into the Mississippi at Fort Snelling. The second-largest watershed in the Minnesota River Basin, it covers 1,760 square miles, divided by the Minnesota River itself.

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 Root River starts as a drainage ditch in Mower County, then winds 81 miles from intensely farmed areas through more wooded, rolling terrain, and finally empties into the Mississippi River south of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Waterways in the northeastern part of the state are generally in better condition than those in the southern, central, and western regions.

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 feature summarizes findings from four WRAPS reports in 2024: Root River, Mississippi River-St. Cloud, Pomme de Terre River, and Mississippi River-Lake Pepin Tributaries.