Water Quality Monitoring - Rivers
River Monitoring
In 1927, the Minnesota and Wisconsin Boards of Health declared the Mississippi River a public health hazard. Raw sewage and other wastes were discharged directly into the river. It was at that time when a predecessor agency to MCES began assessing the Mississippi River's water quality.
Today, more than 150 river miles are monitored on six rivers:
- Mississippi
- Minnesota
- St. Croix
- Rum
- Vermillion
- Cannon
View Map of MCES river monitoring network.
Monitoring allows MCES to:
- measure compliance with state water quality standards and criteria
- meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements
- assess the operations of its wastewater treatment facilities
- determine the biological health of large river ecosystems
- obtain information on the sources and water quality impacts of nonpoint source pollutants
- document long-term trends and changes in water quality
- project future water quality conditions.
View the 2010 River Water Quality Summary Report (pdf) for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
- 2009 River Water Quality Summary Report (pdf)
- 2008 River Water Quality Summary Report (pdf)
- 2007 River Water Quality Summary Report (pdf)
- 2006 River Water Quality Summary Report (pdf)
- 2005 River Water Quality Summary Report (pdf)