Item Description:
title
Support for managing water flows in the Minnesota River Basin through increased water storage and other strategies and practices - offered by Commissioner Goettel
end
Resolution:
body
WHEREAS, A fraction the natural water storage that once existed on the landscape in the form of prairie potholes, wet meadows and shallow lakes in the Minnesota River Basin has been converted to dry usage; and
WHEREAS, ever-increasing impervious surfaces in municipal areas together with existing and increased agricultural drainage coupled with significantly increased precipitation patterns is dramatically increasing water flows in all our streams, lakes and rivers; and
WHEREAS, fast-rising, high water levels in rivers and streams flood adjacent low-lying areas, erode stream banks, create backups on existing tile and ditch systems, and increase sediment transfer downstream; and
WHEREAS, many acres of farm fields are flooded each year, sometimes multiple times each year, by river and stream flooding thereby preventing planting or destroying growing crops; and
WHEREAS, storing water in upstream areas of the landscape will mitigate and slow the amount of water moving into rivers and streams and reduce flooding and erosion; and
WHEREAS, storing water in upstream areas of the landscape and other strategies such as improving soil health will mitigate and slow the amount of water moving into rivers and streams and reduce flooding and erosion; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota River Congress, a citizen-led group focusing on the natural resources and economic health of the Minnesota River Basin, is spearheading an initiative to increase water storage on the landscape using recommendations from the Collaborative for Sediment Source Reduction (CSSR) study as well as the Management Options Simulation Model (MOSM) study recommendations in conjunction with the rich datasets available through state agency monitoring, assessment and conservation targeting (WRAPS, TM...
Click here for full text