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Council oversees extensive water monitoring effort

Collecting reliable data about pollutants present in a lake, stream or river is critical to deciding whether the water body is impaired and determining how to restore it to health.

The Metropolitan Council plays a key role in gathering data on the health of lakes, streams and rivers in the seven-county metro area. Using staff from the Council and local government partners, as well as 120 volunteers, the Council oversees monitoring of:

• 22 sites on the Minnesota, Mississippi, St. Croix and Vermillion rivers
• 26 sites on 24 tributaries to the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix rivers
• 200 lakes in the seven-county metro area

 

Many of the river and stream sites feature automated monitoring and sampling year-round, but some samples are also collected manually. All samples are sent to the Council’s laboratory at the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant, where they are analyzed for water quality variables such as bacteria, suspended solids, nutrients (like phosphorus) and other contaminants, like metals and organic compounds.

Lakes are sampled at two-week intervals from mid-April through mid-October. Field measurements are taken for temperature, dissolved oxygen and water clarity. In addition, water samples are taken from different depths for lab analysis.

All the data is used by an inter-agency team of staff experts to determine whether or not water bodies are meeting their designated use and associated water quality standards, as defined in federal and state law. Based on the team’s conclusions, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reports to the federal Environmental Protection Agency every two years. Waters found to be impaired become the subject of a TMDL study.

Back to the TMDL story.