Adopt and publicly report on measurable surface water improvement targets for lake, river, wetland and ditches.
Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
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Work with other organizations to determine quantitative/qualitative targets for lakes, streams, wetlands. Report routine water quality/clarity sampling under BPA 19.1. |
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Report at least annually to community members on targets - which must include more than TMDLs - and the status of achieving them. Report use of citizen volunteer lake/stream monitors and the Wetland Health Evaluation Program volunteer monitors. |
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Report % of lake, river, wetland and ditch shoreline with at least a 50' vegetation buffer; report at least three years improvements toward the targets. |
Resources
- Buffer studies by the MN Pollution Control Agency and others show that a 50’ strip of permanent vegetation along lakes, streams, and wetland reduces the volume of runoff and the quantity of pollutants entering those waters, helping to protect and restore water quality and healthy aquatic life, natural stream functions and aquatic habitat. Buffers do not solve every water-quality problem and can/should be narrower or wider depending on specific circumstances. Increasing the number and width of buffers is a current focus of effort by Minnesota state agencies. Target buffer widths are 50 feet on lands adjacent to public waters and 16.5 feet on lands adjacent to public ditches.
- See ordinance examples in Setbacks Protecting Sensitive Habitats and Water Quality.
- The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) makes loans and grants to cities on an ongoing basis to protect and improve water quality in communities.
- Gathering and reporting, in a pithy format, water quality data is a first step in setting improvement targets. This work can be augmented through the state's citizen volunteer monitoring programs for lakes and rivers. The State of the River Report for the metro Mississippi River provides a template for a much more limited but publicly accessible report that a city, in concert with allied water organizations, could periodically produce. See BPA 19.1 for additional resources.
- Organizations with which to work include a Lake Improvement District, a watershed district, a watershed management organization, a Soil and Water Conservation District, the county water planning office, a county ditch authority, Minnesota Extension, MN Dept. of Natural Resource, MN Pollution Control Agency, and Minnesota Waters.
- Lake improvement targets include measures such as trophic state, pollutant levels (including TMDLs), storm/ditch drainages, health measures, water levels, groundwater levels, invasive species, public access standards, noise pollution, noise rules, and recreational carrying capacity. See a 2003 carrying capacity study from Wisconsin's Lake Ripley.
- The NEMO program (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) lists two dozen staff who are available to work with cities.
Order Number
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