Water Quality Projects
Gorman Sabre Lakes Surface Water Assessment Grant (2008-2010)
The mechanisms of how organic matter in agricultural settings impact phosphorus, chlorophyll, and clarity is unclear. This research project was designed to evaluate the role of high organic matter concentrations in a lake, determine how it impacts lake loading calculations and modeling and what the ramifications are for implementation projects in rural settings.
Le Sueur Creek Surface Water Assessment Grant (2009-2011)
This project was completed due to a lack of or additional water quality data that is needed within the Le Sueur Creek Watershed. This project included two stream sampling sites (Le Sueur Creek and Forest Prairie Creek) and two lake sampling sites (Greenleaf and Clear). Numerous parameters were sampled such as Total Phosphorus (TP), Chlorophyll a, DO/Temperature, Conductivity, pH, Secchi depth, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Nitrite-Nitrate-N (N-N), and Ecoli.
Le Sueur County Lower Minnesota Assessment Project (2014-2015)
The Lower Minnesota River Watershed was monitored in 2014 and 2015, and this project. The sample sites that are for Le Sueur County include: Le Sueur Creek, Forest Prairie, a joint drainage tributary in the NW part of the county and Lake Sanborn. The project’s goal was to obtain useful water quality data in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed.
Le Sueur County Lower Minnesota Assessment Project Final Report
Lower Minnesota River Watershed and Protection Strategy Civic Engagement (2016-2018)
The results from the projects that were completed will help provide knowledge and understanding of how to get landowners, citizens, and others involved with practices that improve water quality within the Lower MN Watershed. Efforts were focused in both agriculture and urban settings. The public was able to provide a deeper insight on their views of water and the importance of how it impacts them. They were also able to reflect and report their struggles and reasoning behind practice adoption or lack of.