Search

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.

Less than three years after Minnesota passed the country's first ban on TCE, a carcinogenic solvent, facilities around the state have removed it from their processes.

The Cedar River Watershed in Minnesota encompasses 454,029 acres in Mower, Freeborn, Dodge, and Steele counties. This watershed covers prime agricultural land with many streams and drainage ditches flowing into the river.

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.

The Lower St. Croix Watershed covers 585,735 acres and is located in northwest Wisconsin and east-central Minnesota.

Nearly nine in 10 Minnesota communities have reported experiencing the impact of at least one weather trend caused by climate change, and few cities have defined plans to address it.

The Rapid River watershed covers 573,060 acres in northern Minnesota. Over 79% of the land in the watershed is owned or managed by state entities.

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.

Water scientists from the MPCA published four watershed reports in 2025, updating the data we need to keep Minnesota’s waters clean and protected.

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.

Minnesota is a national leader in keeping mercury out of the environment.

Lake of the Woods is a big lake with a big problem caused by one of nature’s smallest organisms: algae. Scientists from the MPCA and the Science Museum are working together to understand why.

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.

Designing stormwater systems to handle the challenges of climate change differs in every community across the state. Here’s how one community is meeting that challenge

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

The Crow Wing River Watershed is located in north-central Minnesota and covers approximately 1,946 square miles within the counties of Becker, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Morrison, Otter Tail, Todd, and Wadena.

Thanks to years of restoration efforts, the MPCA confirmed the Kabekona River meets water quality standards for recreation and proposed its removal from the 2026 impaired waters list.

Image Climate change is having a profound impact on Minnesota's natural environment. Many of our state's iconic native plants and animals — from birch…

State agencies, counties, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and many others are engaged in protecting Minnesota lakes.

Southeastern Minnesota is characterized by an unusual type of geography called karst, where the distinction between groundwater and surface water is blurry.