Representatives from Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), University of Minnesota, College of Saint Benedict & St. John’s University and Lynden Township met at the SWCD office in Waite Park Tuesday to discuss findings from the Plum Creek Watershed impairment research conducted this past summer by College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University students Sarah McLarnan and Pearce Jensen.

 

McLarnan was awarded a $50,000 fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the impairment. She and Jensen performed the research over the summer and into the fall under the supervision of Dr. Joe Storlien from CSB and SJU’s Environmental Studies Department.

 

Dr. Michael Sadowsky, director of the Bio-Technology Institute at the University of Minnesota, has been assisting with the issue and was also involved with the research.

 

Working with the theory that E. coli levels in Plum Creek Watershed were elevated due to sediment movement, the goal of their study was to determine if relationships existed between stream conditions and E. coli in Plum Creek Watershed. Their research included performing in-depth sampling as well as looking at the streambed sediments and other stream conditions at seven sites along the impaired stretch.

 

The research presented Tuesday found there wasn’t much of a correlation between the E. coli numbers in the water and the numbers in the sediment. Earlier DNA analysis determined livestock or human contamination were also not the cause as first speculated.

 

Recent and earlier research has shown the E. coli increases significantly from Warner Lake to Franklin Road, and even more so after a rainfall.

 

“We were all hoping there would be a smoking gun here,” said Reed Larson, MPCA north watershed section manager. “Now we have to take a step back and decide where we go from here.”

 

“Our goal is to delist Plum Creek Watershed off the impaired list,” said Jerry Finch, watershed specialist and Lynden Township supervisor. “What should we be doing next summer?”

 

Larson explained it was unrealistic to expect results in two to three years, and the watershed may be on the impaired list for some time until the source of the bacteria is identified and corrected if possible. 

 

“You’ve got to take the long view,” said Larson. “I do believe in-stream sediment is a contributing factor here. We can work with you to know what you should be looking for.”

 

He added that although delisting Plum Creek Watershed completely might be unrealistic in the short term, if the sources of impairment are determined to be due to natural conditions, it could be re-categorized as a naturally occurring impairment. This would allow is to be moved from the active impaired list to the inactive impaired list.

 

Plans were discussed for measuring water, bank and sediment samples along the impaired section of the creek next summer. DNA will also be more closely tested to help determine the origin of the E. coli. Dr. Storlien won’t have research students available, so Dr. Sadowsky will provide a group to work on the project.

 

Chuck Johnson, hydrologist from MPCA, offered assistance in obtaining temperatures during future sampling, and said he would place a stream gauge in the creek to measure velocity, and a logger in County Ditch 39 to measure water depth and quality.

 

SWCD Administrator Dennis Fuchs will be setting up a meeting with the MPCA’s assessment division after the first of the year to discuss putting Plum Creek Watershed on the inactive impairment list.

 

Plum Creek Watershed was found to be impaired by E. coli after a study conducted by the MPCA in 2012. E. coli is a bacterium found in the intestine of human and warm-blooded animals that becomes a contaminant when found in the food or water supply.

 

The watershed’s “impaired reach” is from Warner Lake to the Mississippi River northwest of Clearwater. “Impaired for aquatic recreational use” means people swimming in its waters are at risk to exposure for specific disease-producing organisms. 

 

Warner Lake has been determined to not be impaired.