1. MN Clean Water Land & Legacy:
is the water getting cleaner?
Joe Magner, Professor
Dept. of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
University of Minnesota
2.
3. 2006 Clean Water Legacy (State)
•Legislation that created a new water program to
address “Impaired” waters
•Impaired waters are waterbodies not meeting water
quality standards
•The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 303(d)
requires a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study
4. How was the Legacy story told?
•The CWA requires states to test all (perceived)
surface waters (“Condition”)
•The State estimated around ~10,000 waterbodies
that will NOT be unable to meet water quality
standards
•If TMDLs are not completed, the CWA restricts any
new or expanded pollutant discharges – NO NEW
GROWTH!
5. Building the Legacy legislation
•Policy Work Group (G16)
•Broader Partners Group (G40)
•Broad citizen engagement (NGOs)
•Minnesota Environmental Initiative managed and
organized the stakeholder process
Today: Clean Water Council that provides guidance to
the Governor
6. 10 year Intensive Watershed Monitoring
Schedule
*The 10 year schedule runs from 2008 to 2017. In 2018, the Snake, North Fork Crow
and Pomme de Terre watersheds will be revisited; the first intensive watershed surveys
on these watersheds were completed in 2006 and 2007.
*
Legend
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7. River Continuum Concept (RCC)
Vannote et al., 1980
•Model for predicting clinal riverine ecological
response (has been observed over time).
•Assumes a continuous gradient (W, D, Q &
entropy gain) from headwaters to mouth.
•Longitudinal gradient of physical conditions
controls biotic response (upstream feeds
downstream)
8. Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis (RES)
Thorp et al., 2006
•Adds new insight into RCC: scale dependent
complexity with partial predictability,
•Hydrogeomorphic Patches: scaled geomorphic
features that may be repeatable,
•Heuristic approach: includes 4 river dimensions,
•Acknowledgement of the role of unique geologic
and hydrologic “lateral patches”
9. An Investment
in Minnesota
On November 4, 2008 Minnesota voters approved the
Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment to the state constitution
The Amendment increases the sales and use
tax rate by 3/8th of 1% on taxable sales,
starting July 1, 2009 and continuing through
2034.
Dollars are dedicated to four funds:
Clean Water
Outdoor Heritage
Arts and Cultural Heritage
Parks and Trails
From Peterson, 2017
10. Clean Water Fund
Goals:
• Protect, enhance, and restore
lakes, rivers, streams, and
groundwater
• Protect drinking water sources
$228 million in 2016-2017
From Peterson, 2017
11. Step 1. Monitor water bodies
and collect data
•Two-year intensive water
monitoring to identify
impairments (lakes & streams)
Outcomes:
•Monitoring & Assessment Report
•Stressor Identification Report
Step 2. Assess the data
•Identify impaired waters (do not meet standards).
•Identify stressors affecting aquatic life.
•Analyze data with water quality models and maps.
Step 3. Develop strategies to restore and
protect the watershed’s water bodies
•Summarize details on water quality issues.
•Determine reduction goals for impaired or protected
water bodies. Outcomes:
•Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
•WRAPS Report
Step 4. Conduct restoration and protection
projects in the watershed
•Civic engagement and public participation.
•Prioritize, target and measure the
implementation of restoration and
protection projects.
Outcomes:
•One Watershed One Plan
•Treatment Trains
“Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS)”
MN Water Management
Framework
From Peterson, 2017
13. Moving from Assessment to Action
Prioritize – what are the problems?
Target – where?
(Tailor) – social negotiation
Measure – Response
From Olm, 2015
14. A work in Progress….
“Drill down to the scale of Implementation”
Sentinel Watersheds, Magner & Brooks, (2008)
TWAIM: Systems Thinking Approach, Magner (2011)
One Watershed One Plan
15. Is the water getting cleaner?
• Is the end point compliance w/WQS?
• Is complete restoration possible?
(Recovery Potential, Norton et al. 2010)
• How do measure the cause-and-effect response to
management actions?
• What is the Impaired Water Response Time to
management action? (Meals et al. 2010)
16. What can we conclude after a decade?
1) Millions of dollars have been spent,
2) Minnesota has a lot of data – (but needs to be analyzed),
3) Understanding pathway and process across SCALE is very difficult,
4) Estimating Buffer Capacity (system resilience and/or recovery
potential),
5) Constraining uncertainty…..easier said than done,
6) Does Biological (IBI) data tell us something?
7) Communicating System Understanding,
8) Human Dimension constraints,
9) Implementation action? Needs more direction,
10) Stacking or treatment train design is still a mystery
11) Measuring – what best tells the story?
12) Why we need Sentinel data collection (10+ years of data)
Notes de l'éditeur
A reason why we are hearing more in the media over the past few years is because we are more aware.
Today’s focus is on the CW funds
Most of those headlines you see in the news regarding water quality are the results of projects completed with funds through the Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment.
In FY 2016-2017 amounted to $228 million, of which 6% went to the MDA.
This funding allows us to incorporate clean water programing into our agencies mission.
25 year funding commitment
New projects can’t supplant existing work
Legislative mandate for interagency collaboration
Strong desire for dollars to be passed through, not used “to grow government”
Emphasis on transparency and accountability
Clean Water = Legislative mandate for interagency collaboration
Read info off of the Framework Handout:
Passing of the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment was a game-changer for water resource management in Minnesota. Increased funding and public expectations have driven the need for more and better coronation amongst the state’s water management agencies.
The MN Water Quality Framework were developed to enhance collaboration and clarify roles in an integrated water governance structure so that it is clear who is responsible at each stage in the process, making it easier and more efficient for state and local partners to work together.
Goal: Cleaner Water Via Comprehensive watershed management
Many of the States Clean Water Fund activities are dedicated to activities to reduce excessive nutrients from being carried south to the Gulf by the Mississippi. Minnesota is one of 11 states part of a Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force. Each state is responsible for establishing a nutrient reduction strategy.
In 2014 the MPCA developed a path to progress in achieving healthy waters called the Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
¾ of the Nitrogen is from ag land, while <40%phosphorus contributions are ag
Mississippi River Phosphorus 45% reduction from average 1980–1996 conditions / Nitrogen:45% reduction from average 1980–1996
How do we as a state meet this goal?