Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District
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Posts tagged "Water quality"

How was lake water quality in 2020?

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - December 26, 2020 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

In a bright spot of 2020, both Spring and Prior Lakes saw improved water quality this year which was a boon to everyone who swarmed to the lake this summer for swimming, fishing and boating. This year marked the first time that all three water quality standards – the goal for a healthy lake – were met on either Spring Lake or Upper Prior Lake.

In the graphs shown below you can see how the levels for each of three water quality parameters have generally improved over time for each lake. The dashed lines show the water quality standards – the goal to meet for good water quality.

Water clarity (Secchi disk depth), total phosphorus concentration and chlorophyll-a concentration are the main standards used by View Full Article →

View Full Article Prior Lake, Spring Lake, Upper Prior, Upper Prior Lake, Water quality, alum, alum treatment, phosphorus, spring

Native Prairie Workshop Webinar: July 23

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - June 25, 2020 - News

Would you like to see your lawn transformed native flowers, and support pollinators and Minnesota wildlife? 

Join the Scott Soil & Water Conservation District for a FREE Native Prairie Workshop Webinar on July 23 at 6:30 pm. Register for the free workshop here.

Learn about site preparation, how to get your planting started, receive maintenance tips and find out more about possible funding.

You do not need to live on a large property to create natural areas, help pollinators and enhance wildlife habitat. Something as small as a half-acre of your lawn or as large as a 10 acre or more crop field can be converted to beautiful and environmentally beneficial native grasses and flowers! Even a smaller patch of native plants in your backyard is beneficial for pollinators.

Contact the Scott SWCD for more information about the webinar or starting your project at 952-492-5425.

View Full Article Water quality, cost-share, cost-share funding, native, native plants, native prairie, pollinators, prairie, prairie restoration, restoration

Two Local Farmers Receive Lake-Friendly Farm Awards

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - February 1, 2019 - News
Farmer-Led Council, Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District, and Scott SWCD
celebrate the accomplishments of Rob Casey & Joe Hentges at January 30th event.

Farmers do many things for our local community, including providing food to eat, employing local staff, and contributing to local revenue, but some are recently are taking on one more role: protecting our lakes and waters. On January 30th, two farmers were recognized by the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District and the Farmer-Led Council for doing an outstanding job of managing their farms in a way that protects the water resources in the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District.

The two Lake-Friendly Farm award recipients, Rob Casey and Joe Hentges, have installed many best management practices on their fields that go above-and-beyond what you normally might see, such as installing cover crops, doing contour farming, installing buffers and filter strips, installing inlet protections, and applying nutrients in a way that reduces nutrient runoff. They are leading by example in the watershed and are the first to be certified into the District’s Lake-Friendly Farm Program.

“We are very fortunate to have such strong leaders and innovators on the Farmer-Led Council, paving the way for others to follow, not only in our watershed, but in the larger County area. The Watershed District thanks Rob Casey and Joe Hentges for their outstanding efforts, as well as the other farmers on the Farmer-Led Council that helped this program be a success.” – Fred Corrigan, PLSLWD Board President.

View Full Article FLC, Farmer-Led Council, Lake-Friendly Farm, Water quality, farming

Local streams impacted by salt pollution; Workshop aims to reduce salt pollution

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - January 17, 2019 - News

This article was written by Maggie Stanwood and was originally published in the January 12, 2019 edition of the Prior Lake American.

Local governments are offering workshops for contractors and others about the use of rock salt to thaw icy roads and sidewalks and on how to use less of it to protect local waterways.

Each winter, hordes of maintenance workers across Minnesota venture into the cold to combat the threat of ice on roads, sidewalks and parking lots with rock salt — too much, in fact, some experts say.

The rock salt, an unrefined version of table salt, dissolves into its separate ions — sodium and chloride — when it meets water in one form or another. The chloride then remains there, traveling with the water through the environment.

Therein lies the problem. Once the chloride is in the water, there’s no feasible method to remove it. And too much salt in a freshwater system can wreak havoc, said Scott County Natural Resources Senior Water Resources Planner Melissa Bokman.

“It affects aquatic fish, aquatic bugs, amphibians; it affects plants,” Bokman said. “It can stay in the soil. It affects your pets. There’s a lot of problems with salt.”

Three bodies of water in Scott County are on a federal impaired waters list for containing too much chloride: Credit River, Sand Creek and Raven Stream.

Several local streams in Scott County have been listed as impaired because they have high levels of chloride.

The county, municipalities and watershed districts are attempting to keep the other bodies of water in Scott County off the list by hosting free winter maintenance workshops for contractors, property managers, school district staff and volunteers who are responsible for maintaining roads and walkways in the winter.

The first workshop is on Jan. 16 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Spring Lake Township Hall on Fairlawn Avenue. The free workshops will be held every couple months through this year. (The next Parking lot & Sidewalk workshops are August 23 & Oct 22).

“A lot of people don’t know how much salt they should be using,” Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District Water Resources Outreach Specialist Kathryn Keller-Miller said. “They’re worried about liability, so they’ll put down extra just in case because they don’t want there to be ice, but in reality they’re using way more than they need to. These workshops came out of that.”

The presentations will be conducted by Fortin Consulting staff as well as a member of the winter maintenance industry so attendees can hear both the science and the practicalities of how and why to reduce salt use, Fortin Consulting Founder Connie Fortin said.

“My company felt like salt was an overlooked pollutant,” Fortin said. “We felt if they understood the serious consequences of putting salt in the water and if we gave them practical things to do to lower salt use that we could get them on our team and move the industry forward.”

For a water body to be considered impaired in regards to chloride pollution, there can be up to 230 milligrams of chloride per liter, which is equivalent to one teaspoon of salt in a five-gallon bucket of water.

“We say, what if you could use one less teaspoon. That would be easy, and you would save five gallons of water from being permanently polluted,” Fortin said.

It only takes one teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. Apply salt only where needed, and once all ice is melted, sweep up any excess salt to reuse later.

A University of Minnesota study found that 78 percent of salt applied in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in the winter made its way to groundwater, lakes or wetlands, according to the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Chloride Management Plan from February 2016.

“Once chloride is in water, the only known technology for its removal is (reverse osmosis) through massive filtration plants, which is not economically feasible,” the report states. “This means that chloride will continue to accumulate in the environment over time.”

Fortin said the methods suggested at the workshop are geared toward workers limiting salt use as much as possible, such as driving slower when applying salt so the dry rock salt isn’t wasted by bouncing off the road.

Because rock salt is not effective if pavement is 14 degrees or colder, the workshop suggests using a different solution or chemical if it’s colder than that.

Liquid mixtures, while not as effective as rock salt, act faster on ice and snow and are about 77 percent water, leading to less environmental damage, Fortin said.

“We look at those different strategies of what chemicals, what spread patterns, what strategies can we use so we use the smallest amount necessary,” Fortin said.

While the workshop is not geared toward residents, residents can also reduce their salt use. Water softeners, for instance, use sodium to remove minerals from water.

“All that soft water eventually gets into our streams and our lakes,” Bokman said.

Residents can also be less zealous on removing 100 percent of ice from sidewalks with ice. If traction is needed, granite pieces or chicken grit can be thrown down and re-used later.

“It’ll give you grip on the ice and give you traction, but you wouldn’t need to use the salt,” Keller-Miller said. “Some people use sand, but sand isn’t always the best because that also washes down the drain and can cause turbidity issues with the water.”

There’s also the good old-fashioned shovel and supporting a municipality or contractor deciding to use less salt, Fortin said.

“Be more encouraging and tolerant as the industries are trying to change,” Fortin said.

Pre-registration is required for the workshops. Those wanting to participate can register by emailing mbokman@co.scott.mn.us or by calling 952-496-8887.

View Full Article Water quality, chloride pollution, chlorides, impaired, road salt, salt, salt use, snow, snow removal, streams, water resources, winter, winter maintenance, workshop

Time to Get Planning! Apply for the 2018 Water Quality Improvement Award.

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - March 6, 2018 - News

Ready to add a new rain garden or shoreline restoration to your property? Just did in the last couple of years? Check out our Water Quality Improvement Award! Four winners will be awarded $500 each!

Need help planning a project? The Scott Soil & Water District (SWCD) can help you design your project and hook you up with cost-share funding!

Water Quality Improvement Award FLYER (back)The Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) of the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District is once again sponsoring a contest to inspire citizens to value, conserve and protect our freshwater resources. Projects completed within the last three years which provide water quality benefits are eligible for the Water Quality Improvement Award.

Many types of projects qualify, see the award application for more details. The project must be within the boundary of the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District and have been completed in 2015 or later.

Finalists will be recognized and up to four applicants will be selected as award winners and each winner will receive a $500 cash prize. Curious who won last year? Check out the Water Quality Improvement Award page.

Certain projects, such as rain gardens, shoreline restorations and use of lake water for irrigation may be eligible for cost share assistance. Please see our Cost Share page for more information.

Applicants for the 3rd Annual Water Quality Improvement Award must apply by October 20, 2017.

View Full Article CAC, Water Quality Improvement Award, Water quality, award, citizens, cost-share
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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.
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Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District
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Prior Lake, MN 55372

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