Informational sessions on Cottonwood, Redwood rivers start

Cottonwood River

needs help

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- The Redwood River Clean Water Project and Cottonwood River Restoration Project "Coffee on the Project" informational sessions got under way Monday morning at Schultz Cafe in Sleepy EYe.

Facts and figures, experts, concerns and stories on the river watersheds plus free coffee and rolls were available to participants. Residents learned about what is being done to improve the rivers and the related programs from various agencies.

Sessions will be held 7-9 a.m., today, at the Lamberton Cafe; 6:30-9 a.m., Wednesday, at the Vesta Community Hall; 6:30-9 a.m. Thursday at Ruby's Heritage House in Springfield; and 6:30-9 a.m. Thursday, May 30 at the Coffee Shop in Storden.

People who attended the Monday session asked about available conservation programs, according to James Doering, RCRCA Executive Director.

"Some people asked us what we are doing," Doering said. "It's not so much what we are doing. All the programs are voluntary. It doesn't work unless people voluntarily sign up."

Despite the recent state budget shortfall, lots of government money is available for conservation programs.

There is $85,000 in state money available through July 1, 2003, for waterways, terraces, sediment ponds, livestock exclusion and buffer strips between pastures and rivers. State funding will not be recurring because the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) will be concentrating future funding in the Red River of the North, Doering said.

State cost sharing includes up to 90 percent of waterways assistance through the Conservation Reserve Program and up to 75 percent for other conservation practices.

Low-interest (3.5 percent) loans are available for conservation practices and any other Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Benefits include decreased downtime, minimal cost, increased topsoil productivity and contributing to the future of agriculture and the environment.

Recurring federal funding includes $75,000 in federal funding for things like rock inlets for tile intakes for better filtration and the removal of "bath tub drains."

Landowners discussed their CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) acres with Doering.

"They talked about what a great program it is and how they were looking forward to recreating on those acres which is great," Doering said. "The river is here, use it for recreation."

The Cottonwood River Restoration Project begin in the spring of 1996 with the award of the Clean Water Partnership grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The project is designed to investigate water quality conditions in the Cottonwood River and design and implement measures to improve the river's quality and usefulness.

The Cottonwood River carries high sediment and phosphorus loads during the growing season, mostly due to rainfall-driven, polluted runoff. Non-point source pollution is the major pollution source, the RCRCA said.

The lower river reach is affected by bacteria, exceeding the fecal coliform standard, and is subject to a total maximum daily load study (TMDL) in the next few years.

The usefulness and aesthetic qualities of the river are impaired, and conditions are unlikely to improve unless changes are made in land use and water management practices. The size of the watershed increases the difficulty of achieving quick, measurable results.

The three priority management areas in the watershed are the Coteau streams, Sleepy Eye Creek and the lower Cottonwood.

The Coteau streams, which include Plum, Pell, Dutch Charley, Highwater and Dry creeks, have a sediment and phosphorus problem. They deliver on average about 9,050 tons of sediment/soil, 150 tons of nitrate-nitrogen and 8.3 tons of total phosphorus into the Cottonwood River annually.

Sleepy Eye Creek carries a high nitrate load. On average, 750 tons of nitrate-nitrogen, 20,500 tons of sediment and 27.5 tons of phosphorus enters Sleepy Eye Creek and flows into the Cottonwood each year.

Fecal coliform bacteria and sediment are the main pollution problems in the lower Cottonwood near New Ulm. It has 154,173 tons of sediment, 2,590 tons of nitrate-nitrogen and 180 tons of phosphorus flowing past this point into the Minnesota River annually.

A project goal is to reduce these nutrients and sediment loadings by 20-40 percent.

Another challenge is that most watershed residents neither live near the Cottonwood River nor use it for recreation. Yet, nearly everyone in the watershed affects the river's condition.

Water quality improvements will require efforts on behalf of large numbers of people within the watershed -- many of the same people who do not use the river now and do not understand how their actions are connected to its fate, the RCRCA report said.

The RCRCA Brown County Canoe Trip will begin at 1 p.m., Monday, June 17, at the Cottonwood River Canoe Access south of Essig and finish at Flandrau State Park. Buses will return travelers to the starting point.

The Redwood County trip starts at 1 p.m., Thursday, June 20 at the canoe access on County Highway 6 and will conclude at Lake Redwood.

A limited number of canoes are available by calling 507-637-2142.

Participants should bring sunscreen and bug spray.