Maple River Sub-Watershed Assessment + Prioritization

Minnesota | Water

Overview

ISG worked with the Faribault County Drainage Department, the SWCD, and a number of other stakeholders to provide an assessment for the Maple River sub-watershed.


Opportunity

The Maple River sub-watershed needed an assessment of its conditions and planning for the preservation of water resources.

Solution

With funding from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources’ (BWSR) Clean Water Fund, ISG utilized existing studies, monitoring data, and models from the Le Sueur River WRAPS to assess existing conditions of the watershed and to identify the proper approach to water planning. ISG identified practices throughout the 43,000-acre watershed using GIS technologies, including ACPF. Based on previous studies, ISG identified priority areas and performed a more comprehensive assessment in these individual sites.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

One key goal of the project was to reduce sediment, so ISG performed a cost-benefit analysis to determine the cost of potential sediment reduction for each practice, and then delivered a prioritized list of actions based on the greatest reduction for the lowest cost for an area covering 9,000 acres. Key priority practices included grass waterways, WASCOBs, ASI, wetlands, ditch and streambank stabilization, and storage ponds/ floodplain storage. For the identified practices, ISG discussed with key stakeholders the funding options available with the intent of educating and engaging landowners on these opportunities.


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