Watershed Management Commission

Welcome to the

Pioneer-Sarah Creek Watershed

new burst.jpg The Pioneer-Sarah Creek Watershed Management Commission is the regional governmental unit responsible for protecting the water resources of the Pioneer-Sarah Creek watershed. We invite you to browse our site using the tabs along the top of the page.

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.

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