Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District
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Highway 13 Ferric Chloride

New Carp Barrier & Maintenance Deck at Ferric Chloride Facility

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - September 3, 2020 - News, Highway 13 Ferric Chloride, Spring Lake

Carp beware! The installation of the new carp barrier and maintenance deck for the District’s ferric chloride weir is now complete. The new structure will prevent carp from accessing the upstream Geis wetland for spawning, includes safety improvements for staff that will allow for easier maintenance. The new barrier replaces an older barrier which was no longer functioning well and was more challenging to maintain.

The photo below shows the downstream side of the ferric weir with the carp barriers in place. The angled tines of the carp can be temporarily lowered to dislodge any debris caught by the grates.

Common carp are a non-native invasive species from Eurasia which are currently found in many District lakes and associated wetlands. Common carp compete with native species and their bottom-feeding habits stir up sediment, reducing water quality and uprooting beneficial aquatic plants in our lakes. The District has a comprehensive carp management program which seeks to control the carp populations in District lakes and wetlands to levels and bring the populations below levels which harm the lakes. For more information on our carp program, visit the project page here.

The ferric chloride facility treats water from the County Ditch 13 system before it enters Spring Lake. Spring Lake is impaired for excess levels of phosphorus and the ferric chloride system removes phosphorus before it reaches the lake. Ferric chloride binds with phosphorus which makes it unavailable to algae. For a video tour of the ferric chloride system, visit our YouTube page here.

For more information on the ferric chloride facility, visit the project’s page on our website.

View Full Article FeCl, carp, carp barrier, ferric chloride

What is the Ferric Chloride Facility?

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - March 3, 2014 - Highway 13 Ferric Chloride

Southwest of Spring Lake sits a small yellow building that guards a particular wetland along Highway 13. Many local residents may not know that this facility and the system connected to it help to clean water before it flows into Spring Lake. This mystery facility is called the Highway 13 Ferric Chloride Facility, and it has been helping to reduce pollutant levels in Spring Lake for almost 15 years.

The Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District (District) originally installed the Ferric Chloride Facility in 1998. Last year, the District finished updating the Ferric Chloride Facility to meet new Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements, and increased the capacity of the system to treat water flowing through the area. Some of the key improvements to the system included upgrades to the line that adds the ferric chloride solution to the water and a bypass that will allow the system to continue to remove phosphorus when a lot of water is trying to move through the wetland to Spring Lake.

Excess water, also known as runoff, from melting snow and rainwater in this area generally flows from the southwest to the northeast as it funnels through the County Ditch 13 system toward Spring Lake. As this runoff flows through the Ferric Chloride system, the facility injects liquid ferric chloride into the water at a controlled rate in a specially built pond area called a desiltation pond. Here the ferric chloride chemical attaches to the phosphorus in the water, then forms a solid material and falls to the bottom of the pond. This process “cleans” the water by removing phosphorus as it continues to flow into Spring Lake.

Removing phosphorus from the water before it reaches Spring Lake is important because Spring Lake already has too much phosphorus. Phosphorus is a nutrient that is important for animal and plant life in lake ecosystems, but too much phosphorus in the water can cause a chain reaction of undesirable events. If there is an excessive amount of phosphorus available in the water, this pollutant can promote harmful algal blooms that cause fish kills and interfere with swimming, fishing and boating.

Recent testing has shown that the Ferric Chloride Facility provides an estimated removal of 35% of the Total Phosphorus coming from the County Ditch 13 system. This essentially prevents an average of more than 500 pounds phosphorus from entering Spring Lake each year. And just one pound of phosphorus can produce 500 pounds of algae!

The system is expected to be active this spring, and will continue to remove phosphorus from the water before it enters Spring Lake.

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The FeCl Facility is Back In Action!

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - September 3, 2013 - Ongoing Projects, Highway 13 Ferric Chloride

Earlier this spring, the District organized the modification of the ferric chloride facility to meet new Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements, and increase the capacity of the system to provide treatment. The system is now actively running and helping to reduce some of the phosphorus from entering Spring Lake.

In March 2013, a crew started to construct the high-flow bypass.

In March 2013, a crew started to construct the high-flow bypass.

Some of the key improvements to the system included upgrades to the ferric chloride feed line and a high-flow bypass that will allow the system to continue to remove phosphorus during very high flow events.

A picture of the new chemical feed pump inside the FeCl facility.

A picture of the new chemical feed pump inside the FeCl facility.

Recent testing has shown that the system, both the FeCl3 injection system and the downstream desiltation basin combined, provides an estimated removal of 35% of the Total Phosphorus (TP) from the County Ditch 13 system. This equates to preventing an average of more than 500 pounds per year of phosphorus from entering Spring Lake, which is impaired for excessive nutrients.

View Full Article

Work has begun!

Posted by Nat Kale - March 8, 2013 - Highway 13 Ferric Chloride

Just this week the PLSLWD began work on updating our Ferric Chloride facility.  Among the improvements to be installed are a high-flow bypass, so that the system can continue to remove phosphorus even in very high flow events, a new feed line that goes directly to the basin where sediment is removed, and a new pump.  All together these improvements will make the system more efficient and effective.

So far we have cleared ground, surveyed, and installed a weir.  We’ll keep posting as new an exciting things happen.  Be sure to give us a call if you have any questions about the project.

View Full Article

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Prior Lake – Spring Lake Watershed District

The District covers about 42 square miles in Scott County, MN. Water in the PLSLWD flows mainly from the southwest to the northeast through Spring, Upper Prior and Lower Prior Lakes, and then north through the Prior Lake Outlet Channel to the Minnesota River near Valley Fair amusement park.
Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment

Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372

Phone: (952) 447-4166
Email: info@plslwd.org

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