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Removing of an old dam and restoring a creek's curves are improving habitat and water quality in the Pomme de Terre River Watershed.

A new planning effort in northwest Minnesota takes a basin-wide approach to reducing the state's phosphorous contributions to the Red River, and to Canada's Lake Winnipeg.

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

MPCA evaluates water quality by measuring and monitoring the health of fish, macroinvertebrates, and plants.

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.

The St. Louis River Mercury TMDL will determine mercury reductions needed for lakes and rivers in the St. Louis River watershed.

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.

The MPCA uses the Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) to store water quality data from more than 17,000 Minnesota sampling locations.

Nitrogen, like phosphorus, is a nutrient that pollutes in state waters, and its concentration in many rivers has been increasing from historic natural levels over time due to human influences.…

Excess nitrate remains a long-term challenge to manage. In our lakes, rivers, and streams, it is toxic to fish and other aquatic life. In drinking water, it can pose a risk to human health,…

The Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) compiles the latest science, research, and data and recommends the most effective strategies to reduce nutrients in our waters from both point and nonpoint sources.

Protecting and restoring water quality is one of the MPCA's core areas of focus.

Clean Water Fund dollars come from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment that Minnesotans approved in 2008.

Water quality trading is a market-based approach to the protection and restoration of surface waters, another tool to be used in conjunction with existing voluntary, regulatory, and financial assistance programs.

A project to address high levels of suspended sediment in the Minnesota River and the South Metro portion of the Mississippi River.

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 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 Lower Red River Watershed (also known as the Red River of the North - Tamarac River) drains an area of 281,000 acres, including parts of Kittson, Marshall, and Roseau counties.

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.

Ten TMDL projects undertaken in the Lower St. Croix River Watershed to address nutrient, biota, bacteria, and other impairments.