by Mike Knaak
news@thenewsleaders.com
Minnesota’s list of impaired waters includes the Mississippi and Watab rivers as they run through Sartell.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency compiles a draft list every two years of waters that fail to meet standards. A public comment period follows.
Tests of the Mississippi River found mercury in fish tissue and listed it as impaired for aquatic consumption.
The study found Watab River was impaired for aquatic life and aquatic recreation.
The agency delisted the Mississippi from the Watab to the Sauk River and determined water quality standards for recreation have been met. That portion of the Mississippi River was added to the list in 2012.
The 2022 list added 305 water bodies with 417 new impairments. There are now 2,904 water bodies with 6,168 impairments in Minnesota.
Common impairments include mercury levels that lead to limits on fish consumption, nutrients that grow algae, sediment that clouds water, bacteria that can make water unsafe for swimming and unhealthy conditions for fish and bugs.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has created an interactive map to check all Minnesota’s waters. Use it at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/impaired-waters-viewer-iwav.
The agency will conduct public meetings on the list. The Central Minnesota online meeting is at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20. Instructions are near the bottom of this web page: www.pca.state.mn.us/water/minnesotas-impaired-waters-list.
