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Welcome
to the Pioneer-Sarah
Creek Watershed Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Minnesota’s Lakes and Streams
brochure now available. This brochure was developed as a direct result of responses
received from a recent survey of watershed residents who were asked about the
measures they were willing to undertake and how much they were willing to pay
to protect and clean up the lakes and streams in the area. Homeowners are already taking some individual steps to improve
water quality, such as using phosphorous-free fertilizer, keeping the streets
free of lawn clippings and leaves, and redirecting their downspouts. However, there is interest and willingness to
go even farther by planting rain gardens, installing rain barrels, and using
more native plants in their landscaping.
The brochure expands the list of things that every resident can do. Results of the survey showed that clean water in Minnesota’s
lakes and streams is very important to Minnesotans. More than three-quarters of the homeowners
contacted said clean water was very important, even when they consider all the
other important issues facing their communities. In fact, those homeowners were willing to
pay, on average, an extra $4.78 per month tax or fee increase just to clean up
the surface water in local lakes and streams.
Almost 80 percent of those surveyed believe everyone should pay for
protecting water quality in our lakes and streams, not just the property owners
who live on the lake. The survey, conducted by Decision Resources, Inc., was sponsored
by members of the Joint Education and Public Outreach Committee (EPOC). The members include representatives from the
Bassett Creek, Elm Creek, Pioneer-Sarah Creek, Shingle Creek and West
Mississippi Watershed Management Commissions.
The Joint EPOC coordinates both general Commission education and
outreach as well as NPDES Phase II education and public outreach activities for
the cities in the member watersheds. The
Committee meets quarterly, and reviews and advises the Commissions on education
and water quality grants, NPDES activities, educational messages and
collaborative activities that advance the public’s knowledge and awareness of
water resources issues in the northwestern suburbs. Lake Sarah TMDL A
preliminary draft of the Lake
Sarah TMDL is now available for review. This document presents a summary of the
completed modeling and resulting Wasteload and Load Allocations for all
permitted and non-permitted phosphorus sources in the watershed. You are invited to review this document and
provide comment on or before Monday, January 25, 2010. On January 25 a summary of the TMDL document
will be presented at a meeting of the Lake Sarah Stakeholder Committee. Representatives from Three Rivers Park
District and the Pioneer-Sarah Creek Watershed Management Commission will be
available to answer questions about the document and the final steps in the
TMDL process. As soon as they are
available, details from the January 25 meeting will be posted here. Following
the Stakeholder meeting, the review period will continue for an additional two
weeks. Following this review period, all
comments will be integrated/addressed and the amended document will be
submitted to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for formal review, initiating the
Official Stakeholder Comment period. If
you have specific questions regarding the document (technical or otherwise),
please feel free to contact Randy Lehr, Three Rivers Park District,
763-694-2061, or rlehr@threeriversparkdistrict.org. The MPCA has created a webpage on its website dedicated to
information regarding the Lake Sarah TMDL project currently underway. Click here to view: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/project-lakesarah-nutrients.html. For
your convenience, the links below provide
quick access to commonly requested information: Phosphorus TMDL approved by EPA. Commission receives CWLA Grant Funding Shoreline Protection
projects underway Can’t find something you are looking for? Please email mailto:judie@jass.bizand
we will try to put the information on the site for you. Some forms require the
FREE Acrobat Reader, provided by Adobe. Please click on the link to obtain a copy. |
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