Monitoring

Stearns County
Soil and Water Conservation District
110 2nd Street South, Suite 128
Waite Park, MN 56387
Tel - (320) 251-7800, Ext. 3 Fax - (320) 251-9171

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Lakes and Monitoring Programs

Citizen Lake Monitoring	Volunteer Stream Monitoring
Stearns County Lake Assessment Project	Stearns County Lakeshed Project
Rice-Koronis Lake Management Plan	Observation Well Program
SRCL Lake Management Plan	Water Quality Monitoring Locations
Central MN Groundwater Monitoring Initiative	Precipitation Monitoring Program

Citizen Lake-Monitoring Program

The Citizen Lake-Monitoring Program is a cooperative program combining the technical resources of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the volunteer efforts of citizens statewide who collect water-quality data on their lakes. It began in 1973 at the University of Minnesota in the Limnological Research Center with 74 lakes. Administration of the Citizen Lake-Monitoring Program (CLMP) was transferred to the MPCA in 1978. This program continues to be a cost-effective means for obtaining good, basic water quality information on many of the State's lakes. To find out the water quality condition of any lake enrolled in the CLMP, use the Search Form located at http://data.pca.state.mn.us/pca/clmp.html.

For additional information visit the Minnesota Pollution Control Web Site at http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/lake.html

Volunteer Stream Monitors Needed Throughout Stearns County

Minnesota streams are important for recreation, transportation, and as a source of clean water for many plants and animals...including humans! The Citizen Stream Monitoring Program (CSMP) combines the knowledge and commitment of interested citizens with the technical expertise and resources of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to develop a more comprehensive statewide network for monitoring our state's 92,000 miles of streams. Any person or group willing to devote a small amount of time and energy to conduct simple stream checks on a regular basis can become a volunteer monitor. Click here to find out more information about becoming a Volunteer Stream Monitor.

Stearns County Water Quality Monitoring Locations
Click on the map to the right to find out which lakes and streams are currently being monitored and by which organization. Currently maps show locations being monitored by the North Fork Crow River Watershed District, the Sauk River Watershed District, the Clearwater River Watershed District, and Saint Cloud State University. Contact Information is also provided for these organizations.

Stearns County Lake Assessment Project

The Stearns County SWCD, Stearns County Environmental Services Department, and researchers from Saint Cloud State University are teaming up to monitor six area lakes for parameters such as phosphorous, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, and temperature each year. Each year six new lakes will be monitored, until approximately thirty have been sampled. All of the lakes being sampled already have volunteers who are using Secchi disk to collect water quality data. Once we have sampled all thirty lakes we will then start again with the original six lakes. The purpose of the monitoring is to collect data which will enable us to observe any trends in water quality over time.

2000 Results (39 KB) Lakes monitored include: Big, Middle and Lower Spunk, Pine, Pelican and Two Rivers.	2001 Results (1.1 MB) Lakes monitored include: Carnelian, Crooked, Grand, Goodners, Long and Pearl.	2002 Results (3.8 MB) Lakes monitored include: McCormic, Big Lake, Bear, Little Birch, Sylvia and School Section.	2004 Results (1.0 MB) Lakes monitored include: Kings Lake, Kraemer Lake, Kreigle Lake, Long Lake, Rossier Lake, St. Anna Lake and Watab Lake.	2005 Results (0.28 MB) Lakes monitored include: Big Fish Lake, Big Watab Lake, Lake Maria, North Browns Lake, Sand Lake, and Eden Lake.

2006 Results (915KB) Two Rivers	2006 Results (980KB) Big Spunk	2006 Results (993KB) Middle Spunk	2006 Results (962KB) Lower Spunk	2006 Results (910KB) Pelican	2006 Results (918KB) Pine

To view these files you will need Acrobat Reader if you do not have it click on the link to download it for free.

Stearns County Lakeshed Project
The lakeshed project is an in-depth look at lakes and their surrounding watersheds (lakesheds) to identify opportunities for water quality improvements. The lakeshed project will be conducted on the same lakes which are being sampled through the Stearns County Lake Assessment Project. Stearns County Lakeshed Project

Rice - Koronis Lake Management Plan
Due to declining water quality in Rice Lake and Koronis Lake a lake management plan was created to help provide a mechanism to improve water quality in these lakes. The purpose of the Rice-Koronis Lake Management Plan was to provide the two lake associations, property owners and resource management agencies working in the Lakeshed with a strategic and comprehensive approach to improving water quality in the lakes as well as enhance the quality of life for residents in the Paynesville area.
Rice-Koronis Lake Management Plan Rice-Koronis Lake Management Resource Inventory

Observation Well Program
The SWCD has been monitoring groundwater levels, under a contract with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources since 1982. Thirty plus wells located throughout the county are checked monthly from March through December in order to track groundwater levels. These wells are in critical areas of the county, where large amounts of water are being used, or where future development might cause a groundwater problem. The overall objective is to collect sufficient baseline data which the state can use to access the impacts on our groundwater. To view the baseline data and location of the wells click on the DNR Observation Well Location Web Site.

Precipitation Monitoring Program
The District has been participating in a statewide precipitation monitoring program since July of 1978. Rain gauges have been placed at 12 mile intervals throughout the state. Rainfall data is collected manually by volunteer cooperators. The data is sent to the State Climatologist and is used to study and document precipitation and weather patterns for the state.

The townships with volunteer cooperators includes St. Cloud, Avon, Collegeville, Oak, LeSauk, Sauk Centre, Crow Lake, Zion, and Maine Prairie Townships.

Visit MNgage Minnesota Area Volunteer Climate Observing Program to review the latest precipitation and climate summaries.

Central Minnesota Groundwater Monitoring Initiative
Through the efforts of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Stearns Co. SWCD thirty plus monitoring wells were installed to facilitate a long-term monitoring well network throughout the coarse textured soils in Stearns County. Approximately 75 percent of these wells are located in the southeastern portion of the County. The Stearns County SWCD is collecting pesticide and nutrient use information from participating farmers to help determine pesticide nutrient use trends on water quality. Ultimately, this effort will produce significant groundwater quality and quantity information, and enable the Stearns County SWCD to promote management strategies aimed at improving the quality of groundwater in Stearns County.