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The following article is from an archived newsletter. See our Shared Waters newsletter.

Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba Coordinating Red River Nutrient Management Strategies

IJC staff
IJC
Water Matters - Banks of the Red River

Excessive nutrients flow to the Red River from tributaries in North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. So it seems reasonable that reductions should come from all three jurisdictions. In the spirit of cooperation, Minnesota has developed a nutrient reduction strategy, and North Dakota and Manitoba are developing their own plans.

The three jurisdictions are coordinating their nutrient reduction efforts with guidance from the IJC’s International Red River Board to develop similar goals and measures for tracking progress.

Excessive nutrient losses to water pose a significant problem for Minnesota and North Dakota rivers, lakes and groundwater, as well as the downstream to Lake Winnipeg.

Nutrients such as phosphorus are important for all living things. However, when they become excessive in water, problems can include excessive algae growth, low levels of oxygen, toxicity to aquatic life and unhealthy drinking water. Nutrients can show up in local drinking water, nearby lakes, or farther downstream in regional lakes and rivers from sources including field erosion and runoff. Nutrients leaving Minnesota and North Dakota via the Red River contribute to algae problems in Lake Winnipeg.

“The Board is working on an overall nutrient reduction strategy for the basin that will recommend reduction targets the three jurisdictions could work into their individual strategies,” says Jim Ziegler, a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency manager who serves on the IRRB.

“For example, the overall strategy will include recommended reductions for each of the tributaries to the Red River,” Ziegler adds. “By coordinating our efforts, we can develop a consensus on the nutrient reduction targets we want to aim for and how we can measure our progress in a consistent way across the various jurisdictions.”

Toward that end, agencies including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Environment Canada are using an existing tool called SPARROW to develop computer models in the Red River basin in Canada and the U.S.

The use of grassed buffer strips along streams, rivers, ditches and lakes help prevent sediment and nutrients from entering waterways. Credit: MPCA
The use of grassed buffer strips along streams, rivers, ditches and lakes help prevent sediment and nutrients from entering waterways. Credit: MPCA

Previously, USGS had developed a model which only included the U.S. side of the basin. The new model will allow jurisdictions to estimate and compare nutrient loads and yields for watersheds at multiple scales throughout the basin. 

Another related effort is underway to develop a conceptual ecological response model for the Red River. The work is being done by RESPEC, a consulting firm under contract with IJC through the Red River Board.

RESPEC has examined existing physical, chemical, and biological data to test the theoretical relationships between nutrients and different biological communities in the river. They identified a lack of existing information on periphyton and phytoplankton, which are types of algae. As a result, partners including Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba and Canada conducted a periphyton study in the river in the summer of 2015. RESPEC is now conducting a statistical analysis of these data. By measuring the amount of algae in a stream or river, you can get a sense of the effect that phosphorous levels are having on the river.

The Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy can be found on the agency’s website. North Dakota is expected to complete its strategy this spring.

In Manitoba, nutrient reduction efforts are being updated as new nutrient targets are developed for Lake Winnipeg and its tributaries, including the Red River.

Action to reduce nutrients also continues throughout the Lake Winnipeg watershed via the Lake Friendly Accord. As signatories to the Accord, Manitoba and Minnesota pledge to support a collaborative effort of improving water quality by reducing nutrients in rivers and lakes.

Ziegler emphasizes that the Red River Board aims to support, not usurp, the authority of Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba. “The Board’s role is one of helping the various jurisdictions coordinate their efforts and offering recommendations as to how they might best achieve their shared goals.”

He adds that coordinating nutrient reduction activities in the basin would include Canadian agencies working on nutrient reduction activities specific to Lake Winnipeg. Any reduction targets generated by computer modeling and other efforts are not mandatory, Ziegler stresses.

“The information provided by the Board are recommendations designed to assist local jurisdictions in their efforts,” he said. “All final strategies, projects and other efforts need to be approved and implemented by regional and local jurisdictions.”

The RESPEC report on the Red River should be available in April. Proposed nutrient reduction goals for the basin are expected by the end of 2017.

Output from SPARROW model showing phosphorus loads in the Red River basin.
Output from SPARROW model showing phosphorus loads in the Red River basin.

 

IJC staff
IJC

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