SITES AND PARAMETERS MONITORED:
Three permanent sites located on the main channel of the
Mississippi in the Little Falls area are routinely monitored on a
monthly basis from April through October. The northern most site at
Belle Prairie, is used as a reference site and two downstream
locations are monitored to measure impact of the municipality of
Little Falls. In addition, two local tributaries are also included in
the monthly monitoring, one located north of the city limits, and one
located about two miles south. Attempt is made each year to also
include a few storm event samplings from the tributaries in order to
determine runoff impact from various land use practices.
The water quality parameters measured include the routine tests
recommended by the River Watch Network (RWN): dissolved oxygen, pH,
nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus, conductivity, turbidity, and
fecal coliform bacteria. All parameters follow the protocol and
quality control/assurance procedures recommended by RWN. Biological
monitoring of water quality has also been implemented over the past
five years. An analysis of benthic macroinvertebrates is done at a
minimum of twice a year at the reference site in the Belle Prairie
rapids area, downstream at one of the potential impact sites, and at
riffle area on the Swan River, one of the local tributaries south of
the city limits. In 1997 a bioassay methodology for testing for heavy
metals and toxic organics has been tested and currently is in the
experimental stage on storm drain discharge and municipal waste water
effluent.
HOW OUR DATA IS USED BY THE COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENTAL
AGENCIES:
In the early stages of our program, our data was sent to the
Mississippi Headwaters Board (MHB) where it became part of their
network data bank. Shortly thereafter the local DNR Fisheries became
aware of our program and began to receive and utilize our data. In
1994 the Morrison County Water Plan Coordinator and Task Force became
very interested in our program and incorporated our work into their
County Water Plan. The past four years has seen a close partnership
develop between the LF River Watch and the County Water Plan. They
have commissioned several water quality investigations on local
impact areas and each year has seen growth in our partnership and
program.
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SCHOOLS:
Since 1991 the River Watch Program has been part of two curriculum
offerings at the Little Falls Community High School. The fall program
is part of Aquatic Biology, a single trimester elective biology
course for juniors and seniors. The spring monitoring is done by
students enrolled in Community Environmental Involvement, a three
credit interdisciplinary program involving elective choices of
science, social studies, and English. The summer monitoring consists
of interested selected students who are hired on a hourly part time
basis.
Funding for the program comes from a variety of community
resources. Since the program is part of the academic curriculum, the
cost of expendable supplies, and instructional costs used for
training is covered by the school district science budget. Additional
costs for operation, such as reagents used for monitoring, salaries
for students and teacher during the summer is covered by the county
water plan, local community organizations, and recently the Sullivan
Lake Association. The initial cost of equipment used for the program
was paid for by the MHB via a grant from the Blandin Foundation.
Recently an attempt has been made in the K-12 curriculum to
introduce the concept of water quality monitoring in the mid-primary
grades. Using simplified technology many of the parameters measured
by River Watch can be introduced to elementary students. The
collection of invertebrates from local tributaries is particularly
suitable for elementary involvement and can serve as a means of cross
age interaction with elementary and high school students. This
project is still in the early developmental stage in Little Falls and
time will be needed to assess how well it will work. It is hoped that
this will lead to increased interest in the River Watch Program when
these students reach high school age.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:
The program has received a lot of positive publicity over the past
seven years and the scope and number of monitoring projects has
steadily grown. Recently, several lake associations from Morrison
County have expressed interest in having water quality monitoring
done on their lakes. During the summer of 1997 the Sullivan Lake
Association funded a study on inlets to their lake. The results
provided important information for developing Best Management
Practices along the perimeter of the lake. It is anticipated that
future years will see similar interest and projects on other lakes
within Morrison County.
Because of the close association with the Morrison County Water
Plan there is an unlimited number of projects which could be
considered. In depth short term studies on tributaries from origin to
confluence with the Mississippi, monitoring of wetlands within the
county, ground water analysis, suspected point source pollution
discharges, etc. are all potential projects which are under
consideration.
Jim Norwood
jnorwood@lfalls.k12.mn.us
Technology Integrationist
Riverwatch