1. Thief River Watershed Sediment Investigation
By: Corey Hanson,
Water Quality Coordinator,
Red Lake Watershed District
For: January 10, 2007 Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership Meeting
Thief River Watershed Sediment Investigation

2. Project Origin Marshall County Water Resources Advisory Committee
Red River Basin Water Quality Team
December 15, 2005 Impoundment Meeting
Part of Marshall County Water Plan and the RLWD 10-Yr Plan

3. Thief River Watershed

4. Problems Sedimentation in the Thief River Falls Reservoir
Large flushes of suspended solids and nutrients during releases from Agassiz NWR
Streambank/ditch erosion and sedimentation
Channelization
Flooding
Low Dissolved Oxygen
Hydrogen Sulfide

5. Evidence

6. Thief lake Deltas
Moose River
Spillway Ditch

7. How were problems identified
Red Lake Watershed District Long-Term Monitoring Program
Identification of impairments
Monitoring by Marshall County
Investigative monitoring
Created more questions than answers
Complaints about poor water quality

8. Impaired Waters – New On 2006 List

9. Questions That will Be Addressed
Is Agassiz NWR really cause of water quality problems in the Thief River or does the problem come from what is entering the refuge?
Influence of the Mud River?
How often does turbidity increase between Thief Lake and Agassiz NWR and what is causing this problem? Is this reach impaired?
Are ditches contributing to the Thief River water quality problems?
What happens during runoff events?
How is the rate of release from Agassiz Pool to the quality of water being released from the pool?

10. Suggested Solutions
Intensive study that includes continuous monitoring.
Focus on Thief Lake and Agassiz NWR
Input vs Output
TIMING
Sediment Budgets
Coordination
Maintenance

11. Project Objectives Purchase Equipment
Equipment calibration and maintenance
Water quality monitoring
Flow monitoring
Data entry and reduction
Develop sediment budget
Water quality modeling
Assess Results
Make recommendations
Write and review report
Publish Report
Develop impaired waters work plans

12. Timeline February 2007 – February 2010
Continuous monitoring in open water months of all years.
Equipment installed as soon as possible.
Monthly sampling (at least)
FLUX and SWAT Modeling will be done near the end of the project so that monitoring data may be used

13. Budget Objectives Funding Types Total Grant and Local Cash In-kind
1. Equipment – Purchase of 5 logging sondes, 3 level loggers, & construction materials; 3 level loggers, profiling sondes, & logging rain gauge are already available from the RLWD
$39,600
2. Equipment Calibration & Maintenance
$7,100
3. Water quality monitoring (Marshall Co. & RLWD)
$27,050
$25,150
$52,200
4. Flow monitoring (RLWD) – rating curve development
$9,900
5. Data entry & reduction (all)
$10,350
$750
$11,100
6. Develop sediment budget – FLUX model (RLWD)
$4,900
7. Water quality modeling – SWAT model (EERC)
$45,000
8. Assess results (All)
$1,500
$2,500
$4,000
9. Make recommendations ALL
10. Write and review report (All)
$6,500
$9,000
11. Publish report (RLWD)
$3,000
12. Develop impaired waters study work plans (All)
$2,000
$1,200
$3,200
Total of Program Objectives
$158,400
$34,600
$193,000

14. Funding
Encouraged by Molly MacGregor of the MPCA to apply for a Clean Water Partnership Resource Investigation Grant.
MPCA Approved $96,500 in Funding for the Project ($193,000 total budget)
Cash Match from RLWD
In-kind support
Marshall County Water Plan, USFWS, DNR, Pennington County
Red River Watershed Management Board?

15. Monitoring Plan Continuous Monitoring Sampling Flow Rating Curves
Streamgauging
Data Analysis
Modeling
Flux
SWAT
Verification of existing impairments, ID of new ones

16. Monitoring Sites

17. Proposed Agassiz NWR Monitoring Sites

18. Continuous Monitoring
Eureka Manta Logging sondes with optical dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and water depth added.
At least 5 or 6 sites
Water level loggers at other sites
2 to 5 sites
Weather

19. Sampling 11 sites Sampling by the RLWD and the Marshall Co. Water Plan
Total suspended solids
Total phosphorus and orthophosphorus
E-Coli
Field Measurements
Turbidity
Dissolved Oxygen
More

20. Modeling Soil and Water Assessment Tool Basic Tasks
Model Development, Calibration, and Validation
Water Quality Assessment
Identification of Target Areas and BMPs
Evaluation of Hypothetical BMP Implementation
Compilation of Results

21. Next Steps Getting a grant agreement to sign
Creating a detailed work plan and budget
Review past studies/projects
Piggyback Projects
Monitoring by Agassiz NWR
At outlet from Agassiz Pool to Ditch 11
Ditch 11 above Agassiz Pool
Ditch 11 Erosion Control

22. Contact Information
Corey Hanson Water Quality Coordinator Red Lake Watershed District 102 Main Ave N P.O. Box 803 Thief River Falls, MN Phone: Cell: Website: