Recent hot weather has put lakes in the news. Some, particularly those already polluted with too many nutrients, experience blooms of toxic blue-green algae that create a health concern about getting in the water. Sometimes beaches are closed. Each year there are a few reports in the state of dogs dying from drinking that water. They are dramatic reasons lakes and rivers are monitored, but not the only reasons.

The Anoka Conservation District (ACD) monitors water quality in 20 lakes and 20+ stream or river sites. Not all waters are monitored every year.This monitoring is used for:

• Surveillance – Identifying problems early.
• Diagnosis – Determining the cause of problems.
• Project effectiveness – Track how efforts to improve waters are working, and adjust management to maximize returns.

ACD focuses on lake health and recreational suitability, and can highlight places where health-related monitoring is warranted. Public beaches are required to do other health-related monitoring.

During the summer months, use caution around algae blooms. Toxic blue-green algae cannot be identified just by looking at it, but algal slimes on the water are certainly a warning sign. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency advises, "when in doubt, stay out."

There is no practical treatment to remove blue-green algae from our lakes. It is part of the natural algae community. However, we can work to reduce nutrients that fuel algae blooms. In this way we can improve overall lake recreational suitability and reduce health concerns.

A state strategy to move away from competitive grant funding and toward predictable and reliable allocations for water resource management is underway. The concern with competitive funding is the amount of staff time that is dedicated toward the preparation of project applications. With funding requests consistently exceeding available funding by a factor of four, the likelihood of success is slim. This creates a system of feast or famine project implementation, which leads to the highly inefficient cycle of building and dismantling programs and services.

The new approach, called Watershed Based Implementation Funding will eventually allocate up to 80% of available Clean Water Fund dollars to established partnerships that have ready-to-implement strategic plans. After the bugs are worked out, the hope is that water resource managers will be able to predict funding availability more accurately and be able to implement water quality improvement projects efficiently and systematically.

Anoka Conservation District is a member of four of these watershed-based partnerships: Rum River, Lower St. Croix, Mississippi West, and Mississippi East. Each group is in the process of meeting virtually to discuss how to distribute funds allocated to their watershed area. Allocations for watershed areas are based on land area and other factors, and vary greatly.

Funds can be distributed to partners to pursue the projects identified in their individual plans, or to a ranked list of projects compiled and approved by the partnership. Each group is likely to take a different approach. In the Rum River, a project list was developed by consensus of the partners, and was heavily influenced by project readiness. In the Lower St. Croix, there is a single master plan, called a 1-Watershed, 1-Plan that is being used to guide project selection. In Mississippi West, a ranking system has been developed and each partner may bring forward up to two projects for consideration. In Mississippi East, the preference seems to be to allocate funds to the three subgroups (soils and water conservation districts, watershed management organizations, and counties with groundwater plans) and have them work amongst themselves to develop a list of implementation activities.

How ever we get there, it will be exciting to see what projects and programs come to fruition through this new approach. 

The Anoka Conservation District has been collecting photo inventories of lakes and rivers around Anoka County and uploading them to Google Street View. We use these photos to look for restoration and stabilization opportunities at eroded or degraded shorelines. You can also view these photos just like you can view streets on Google Maps! All of our photos are available to the public, and so far we have over 618k views! All you have to do to see the photos for yourself is:

1. Navigate to Google Maps in a web browser,

2. Zoom to the lake or river you are interested in (current list of completed inventories below),

3. Grab and drag the "Little Orange Man" in the bottom right of Google Maps to a blue circle or line in the lake or river,

4. And finally, you can pan photos as 360° orbs by clicking and dragging your mouse around. You can also advance around the lake or down the river by clicking the floating gray arrows that appear on the water to zoom to the next picture.

So far we have photos available on the following waterbodies:

• Rum River
• Mississippi River (south of Coon Rapids Dam)
• Lake George
• Coon Lake
• Linwood Lake
• Martin Lake
• Typo Lake

We are planning to do more inventories in the coming years, so check back into Google Maps periodically, or continue to follow us for more updates!

Whether you call it a swamp, marsh, or low area, it is most likely a wetland and it is most likely regulated by someone.

Excavating: Anoka County residents frequently inquire how to improve their land for waterfowl or other wildlife. A common practice in Anoka County is pond excavations in seasonally saturated areas, or cattail-choked wetlands to provide an open water habitat. The Wetland Conservation Act regulates excavations in the permanently and semi-permanently flooded areas of type 3, 4, or 5 wetlands and also regulates the placement of spoil and the depth of the excavation in all types of wetlands. Other jurisdictions including the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources may have regulatory authority on wetland excavation projects.

Draining: There is potential for pond excavations to drain adjacent wetland areas. Typically, in Anoka County, if the hydrology is predominantly groundwater driven, a pond excavation can be designed that will not drain adjacent wetlands. However, there is an increased likelihood that a pond excavation will drain adjacent wetlands when wetlands hydrology is primarily surface water, or when the excavation is connected to a drainage ditch. This is an issue that is best addressed by your local government or the Anoka Conservation District during review of a specific project.

Filling: Filling of wetlands must be avoided during pond excavations. The spoil from the excavation must be placed in an upland area. A qualified wetland professional may be needed to ensure that the destination of the spoil is upland.

Proper erosion control practices must be incorporated as well. If you have questions, contact the Anoka Conservation District for assistance. Contact us.

Anoka Conservation District staff have had a busy spring providing technical assistance to landowners for projects related to water resources. Inquiries about riverbanks, lakeshores, and rain gardens have been particularly common. In total, technical assistance has been provided to over 40 individual property landowners.

Active erosion is the primary reason that prompts people to reach out for assistance with their riverbanks and lakeshores. ACD staff have expertise in a wide variety of stabilization methods and know what it takes to complete a successful project. For example, stabilization projects typically require a formal design and coordination with a qualified contractor for installation. There are also a number of permits commonly required, which ACD staff have experience coordinating. Thus far in 2020, technical assistance has been provided for 13 riverbanks and 12 lakeshores.

Technical assistance has also been provided for 16 rain gardens so far in 2020. Rain gardens are generally categorized as either rooftop disconnect or curb-cut. Rooftop disconnect rain gardens receive runoff from downspouts. Driveway runoff could also be directed to rooftop disconnect rain gardens via a trench drain.Rooftop disconnect rain gardens can be a great do-it-yourself project. Curb-cut rain gardens direct water from the curb and gutter system into a shallow depression in your yard near the road and are primarily constructed by landscape contractors. Once the rain garden fills (typically 1' deep), the runoff bypasses the inlet so there is no risk of flooding your yard. This allows the 'first flush' to be treated, which typically has the most pollutants.

Available funding can be limited, but it's always a good idea to check because new grants may become available from year to year. If funding is unavailable, ACD staff can minimally provide technical assistance. That process typically begins with a phone call or email to learn about the site. ACD staff then conduct a desktop site assessment using available mapping data and schedule site visits when necessary. ACD will also provide assistance with design and construction management, which are sometimes covered by grants.

If you have questions about your property, please contact us. In addition to assistance with projects related to water resources, ACD staff are also available to assist with habitat restoration projects.