An Upper Mississippi River Total Suspended Solids Test Report question and answer session will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, online.
The report, known as a total maximum daily load, is specific to Total Suspended Solids in three reaches of the Upper Mississippi River that are on Minnesota’s 2018 list of impaired waters: from the Swan River to the Willow River; the Willow River to the Pine River; and the Pine River to the Crow Wing River.
A TMDL establishes the amount of a given pollutant that a water body can accept and still meet water quality standards.
Past monitoring efforts identified TSS, or specifically sediment, impairments within these reaches of the river. This TMDL is a follow up study stemming from the Upper Mississippi River Monitoring and Assessment Report. The TMDL will help guide local, state and federal partnerships to develop and implement strategies to minimize sediment impairments, including land conservation through easements and acquisition, working 1:1 with landowners to exclude livestock from direct access to waterways, riparian buffers and filter strips along waterways and other stormwater best management practices.
Once the draft report is approved for release, it will be available online. Interested parties may find it through a search online for “MPCA Mississippi River-Brainerd Watershed” or “Mississippi River-Grand Rapids Watershed." Or email bonnie.finnerty@state.mn.us to request a copy upon availability.
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Join the event online before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday by following these steps:
1. Go to www.webex.com.
2. Click “join” in the upper right hand corner.
3. Enter meeting number (access code): 146 935 6110
4. Enter meeting password: vYVg92Bk5Au
Those without internet may join by phone by dialing 1-415-655-0003 and entering the meeting number (access code): 146 935 6110. When asked for a participant ID, enter #.
