And you thought 10,000 lakes were a big deal. Minnesota also has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles.
Keeping an eye on the water quality of the state’s flowing waters is important and requires a statewide network of partners. NRRI is one of 18 skilled water monitoring organizations gathering data that is coordinated and analyzed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
“It’s a massive program,” said NRRI Applied Limnologist Chris Filstrup. “The state needs to know if the things we do in the watershed are impacting stream health, but also how the streams are changing or are impacted by climate change.”
And thanks to the steady supply of students and recent graduates from the University of Minnesota Duluth, NRRI uses this opportunity to train the next generation of water scientists.
Over the River
On a misty mid-morning in August, Becca Marston looks down over a bridge barrier rail at a section of the St. Louis River in Floodwood, Minn. She graduated from UMD in May with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. And that particular bit of river is one of her favorites.
This is her second year at NRRI and this project is one of several water related areas she’s worked in.
“It’s been great to transition from working as a student to a more permanent position,” Marston added. “I've been able to see where research is going, and what type of research I see myself doing through the methods I learn and the methods of my peers.”
For this project, Marston is gathering data on water flow, depth and temperature. She also fills a long tube with stream water and uses a small black and white Secchi disk to measure water clarity. A four-liter plastic jug of water is filled with river water to bring back to NRRI’s Central Analytical Lab to analyze for nutrients, like nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment.
Sample. Analyze. Repeat.
This same data has been collected from the same 200 locations statewide since 2007. NRRI has been a partner from the beginning. NRRI collects data from six of those locations which, in addition to two sites on the St. Louis River, includes the Whiteface River, Swan River, Second Creek, and the Cloquet River. For ease of gathering, the sample locations are mostly on bridges.
NRRI employs its EPA-certified Analytical Lab, with strict quality control procedures, to ensure the data are of the highest quality for this, and many other projects.
“Climate change, especially, is making this long term monitoring really important to see incremental changes over time,” said Filstrup, who oversees the lab. “We’re a trusted partner in this effort.”
And for students or early career scientists, contributing to the database and seeing the big reveal each year – whether water quality has gotten better or worse – is exciting.
“It's so cool to be part of a larger project with sampling and monitoring all over the state that builds a long term record of stream health,” said Marston. “It's also nice to know that every sample I collect, every data point on a graph, is important to generate trends for stream health across the state.”
The MPCA’s Data Viewer makes the locations and data readily available. The program is funded with appropriations from Minnesota’s Clean Water Legacy Fund.
(And, by the way, Minnesota’s official lake count is more like 14,380, according to Minnesota Sea Grant.)