Registration is now open for 2 Stormwater Education Program workshops.

1. Stormwater BMP Training Class 3: Selecting Sormwater BMP Tools to Best Meet Site Needs: Thursday April 11 from 8am to 3:45 pm in Cottage grove, MN. Workshop Info Flyer

2. Urban Stream Restoration and Maintenance Workshop: Tuesday June 18th and Wednesday June 19th in Edina, MN. Workshop Info Flyer

Presentations and the final report from the 2013 Watershed Research Symposium, which was held in February at the University of Minnesota, are now available online.

World Water Monitoring Challenge (WWMC) recently launched a channel on YouTube. Here you will find short tutorials for using the WWMC test kit and entering your monitoring data. You will also find playlists featuring videos from participants around the world.

WWMC is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens in the monitoring of their local waterbodies.

Four Speakers on Native Plants

On Tuesday, May 21 the City of Superior Environmental Services Division will be hosting a night on native plants at the Superior Public Library from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

The presentations will include topics ranging from Improving Wildlife Habitat, Native Plants and Preservation, Shoreline Restoration, and the Benefit of Wetlands in Superior. The guest speakers will be Carol Andrews with the Arrowhead Chapter of Wild Ones, Jane Anklam with the West Wisconsin Land Trust, Paul Hlina with Leaning Pine native plants and Darienne McNamara with the City of Superior SAMP program (Special Areas Management Plan). Browse Wildwoods Rehabilitation and Master Gardeners booths. Learn about native plants and how they can make a difference in water quality and also provide habitat and food for the birds and the bees. Native plants need less water and can beautify your yard. Native plants also work very well in rain gardens which help slow rainwater down, filter it, and can reduce stormwater pollution.

For more information on the Native Plant Night program call 715-394-0392 ext. 1041. The event is free and open to the public. Native plants will also be for sale at the event.

Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Sale!

Saturday, May 18, 2013
9 am - 1 pm
Lake Superior College
Lower Parking Lot
2101 Trinity Road
Duluth, MN

The Western Lake Superior Sanitary District and the Regional Stormwater Protection Team are sponsoring a rain barrel and compost bin sale.

Rain barrels will be available for $55/unit.
Compost bins will be sold for $45.

Registration is open for the following workshop:

Diagnosing Streams: Symptoms, Underlying Causes, and Remedies

April 8-10, Fergus Falls, MN.

Offered by the MN DNR Ecological and Water Resources, Stream Habitat Program.

EPA Survey Finds More Than Half of the Nation’s River and Stream Miles in Poor Condition

"National River and Streams Assessment (2008-2009)"

The health of our Nation’s rivers, lakes, bays and coastal waters depends on the vast network of streams where they begin, and this new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure,” said Office of Water Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner. “We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities, and play a critical role in the economy.”

**Open Public Meeting on the Impacts of Nonferrous Mining in the Lake Superior Basin: Overview and Updates**

Friday, March 15, 12:30 to 5:30 pm in the Auditorium (Rm C175) at the Mesabi Range Community and Technical College, 1001 Chestnut St West, Virginia, MN

Here is the the full agenda

Lake Superior Watershed Ditch and Culvert Design Workshop

Wednesday, March 6th 9-4:40 though Thursday, March 7th 8-12:30 at the EPA Mid Continent Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN

Attendees will learn how to analyze, plan, construct, and maintain runoff management systems that reduce hydrologic impacts and erosion that degrade surface water in the Lake Superior Watershed.

This event will feature Sandy Verry, (USFS Hydrologist, retired) “Understanding the Sizing Dilema, why the problems are where they are and getting the installation right”

 $30 Registration fee before February 27, 2013, space is limited.

Go to www.lrcd.org and click on “Workshops” for Information and Registration.

Try out this rainfall calculator to find out how much water falls during a storm. The calculator allows you to enter the square footage of the area of interest and a rainfall amount. The result tells you how many gallons of water fell from the sky on to your lawn.

Climate Change and Lake Superior- Two Webinars from the Lake Superior Binational Forum

• Planning for the Future: Municipalities and Marinas and Climate Change Impacts, Friday February 15th, 10am
• Shared Stewardship of the Lake Superior Basin: The Faith Community Responds to Climate Change, Thursday February 21, 10 am.

To register e-mail: Binational Forum

12th Annual Road Salt Symposium

February 7, 2013
U of MN Landscape Arboretum, Chanhassen, MN, 8:30am- 3pm

Go here to register or call Jeanne at 952-314-8133 or e-mail: jeanne@freshwater.org

Great Lakes Restoration Communications Workshop

Learn how you can participate in communications efforts to maintain progress on federal Great Lakes restoration efforts.

January 31, 2013, 2-4 PM at the Duluth Public Library (520 W. Superior St) in the "Gold Room"

Please RSVP by 1/30/2013, by contacting Jordan Lubetkin at Lubetkin@nwf.org or 734-887-7109.

FREE Raingarden App available for homeowners and contractors designed to help folks properly install a rain garden. Through video tutorials, diagrams, text, and tools, the App guides you though determining the size and placement of your garden, selecting plants, digging and planting your garden, and maintaining your garden. It also includes tools for determining your soil type, measuring the size of the area that will drain to your garden, and managing multiple rain garden projects.

From the CT NEMO Program

Presence of Selected Chemicals of Emerging Concern in Water and Bottom Sediment from the St. Louis River, St. Louis Bay, and Superior Bay, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2010

By Victoria G. Christensen, Kathy E. Lee, Kristen A. Kieta, and Sarah M. Elliott

Available as a PDF (30.7 MB) from the USGS here

Winter Parking Lot and Sidewalk Maintenance Training Seminar

Tuesday, January 8, 2013 from 9:00-2:30
at the Natural Resources Research Institute
5013 Miller Trunk Hwy, Duluth, MN 55811

Get no-nonsense information and useful tips and suggestions from leading experts on: Material application rates Calibrating equipment Understanding the weather conditions Storing materials De-Icing and anti-icing techniques Snow removal contractors, property managers and anyone responsible for maintaining sidewalks and parking lots will not want to miss this one-day training seminar. The workshop is FREE and lunch will be provided.

Don't miss this great opportunity! The registration deadline is December 18th. Here are more details & the registration form .

The workshop will focus on the underground stormwater treatment devices (hydrodynamic separators/HDS) and rain harvesting systems.

Register now at:  http://www.regonline.com/stormwaterHDS

Who should attend? Engineers, technicians, and regulators at all levels

Please open this flier (PDF) for more detailed workshop series information and how to register.  

For more information, contact Larry Zdon at the MPCA: 651-757-2839 or lawrence.zdon@state.mn.us.

Duluth Stream Corps Exceeds Goals to restore streams.

Read about it in the December 2012 issue of the River Voice available on the St Louis River Alliance web site.

The Environmental Quality Board will be convening a series of Citizen Forums as part of the Minnesota Environmental Congress.

The Duluth forum will be held at Lake Superior College, November 28th from 5:30-8:00 pm. Here is the announcement for more meeting locations and information.

National Menu of Stormwater Best Management Practices

EPA has renamed, reorganized, updated, and enhanced the features of the website. These revisions include the addition of new fact sheets and revisions of existing fact sheets. Because the field of stormwater is constantly changing.

The November 2012 South St Louis Soil and Water Conservation District ENEWS is now on-line..

Don’t risk water quality violations!

Protect Minnesota’s Waters by Preparing Your Construction Site for Winter Snow Melt and Rain 

The construction season is coming to a close. Site preparations need to be completed before frozen conditions so that protection is in place during winter thaws and the spring snow melt. Resume site inspections and maintenance as soon as runoff occurs or construction starts again, whichever comes first. You play a vital role in protecting Minnesota’s lakes, streams and wetlands from sediment and other contaminants. For more information go to the MPCA Stormwater Program website.

NOAA/GLERL Great Lakes Depth-Averaged Currents Map

View surface water currents in the Great Lakes on the NOAA/GLERL website. The flow patterns shown on the map are simulations based on wind speed.

Virtual Academy Webinar: Water Quality Standards 101

The first Water Quality Standards Virtual Academy webinar: “Water Quality Standards 101” will be held in October. Water quality standards are the foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program mandated by the Clean Water Act. Learn how you can use water quality standards to protect water resources. This webinar is aimed at states, territories, tribes, environmental groups, industrial groups, municipalities, the academic community, federal agencies, watershed groups and any other interested parties.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, October 4, 2012 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST. Register here.

Webinar: Opportunistic Stormwater Education - Finding and Fostering Cost-Efficient Options

Thursday, Sept 20th at 2pm EST. Cost is $79, click here for more information and to register.

Here are links to some newsletters that have just come out:

• The Summer 2012 Stream Monitoring News of the Wisconsin Citizen-Based Water Monitoring Network is now available.
• The South St Louis County SWCD ENEWS

Videos of the presentations given at the "Planning for Climate Impacts in the Western Lake Superior Region Workshop" held last September in Duluth are now available on-line.

It’s time to register for the Annual Canoe Tour on the St. Louis River! 

Saturday, August 18th - Click here to register

Benefit for the rehabilitation of Chester Park and Chester Bowl

Saturday July 21st, 2-7 pm at the Chester Creek Cafe parking lot

Food-Drink-Music-Games-Prizes

For all the details go here

Register your flood erosion damage now

Private landowners in south St Louis County who suffered land erosion problems from the June 20 flood are asked to register the damage immediately, and by August 15, 2012 at the latest. Land-based issues include erosion, landslides, stream bank failures or other shoreline collapses, for both commercial and residential properties.

Damage to structures and roads are being cataloged and assessed by other offices.

"We are now trying to assess and quantify erosion damage to help with future applications for funding," explains R.C. Boheim, District Manager of South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District. "Our staff will visit as many properties as possible before mid-August, to get a general idea of what needs to be done and how much it will cost."

In the special legislative session expected in late August, the state's Board of Water and Soil Resources is expected to allocate restoration funds under its disaster recovery program. Conservation districts regularly offer cost-share programs to private landowners for erosion control.

To register land-based problems from the June flood anywhere in south St. Louis County, including Duluth, call the South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District office at (218) 723-4867.

Flood Update:

We have recovered all of our stream monitoring equipment and there's good news and bad news. Most of the sondes have survived with the exception of the turbidity sensor on the Amity sonde. The bad news is that all of the control boxes (batteries, cables, modems, and loggers) received significant water damage and just a few components were salvageable. However, since two of our sondes are capable of internal data logging we were able to re-deploy the Tischer and Chester units. We will be manually downloading the data every few days and posting them to the data viewer.

NRRI Limnologist Rich Axler answers the question "Did the rains and floods of June 19-20, 2012 have a big effect on our streams and lakes?"

Flood Updates:

• Rich Axler discusses what "Scientists will learn from Duluth flooding".
• City of Duluth's Flood Information and Resources webpage.
• We've recovered three of the four stream sondes. The Kingsbury sonde still works and recorded some interesting data just before it lost power. Work today will focus on recovering equipment from Amity Creek.

Flood Updates: We are still assessing the damgages to the stream equipment. A quick look last Friday found all the sondes buried in debris - trees, rocks, cobbles and gravel. All of the control boxes were underwater at some point and will more than likely need to be replaced.

The St Louis River is finally beginning to come down a bit. We reported last month a high discharge rate of 21,000 cfs. Last Thursday, 6/21/2012, it reached a high of 43,800 cfs. Here's the hydrograph from the St Louis River Scanlon gauge for the last month.

We will be posting our own images and videos but in the meantime the Minnesota Public Radio website has images and videos of the flood and its aftermath. Also the Duluth News Tribune.

One last thing, as a result of the storm a number of Lake Superior beaches have high bacteria counts so water contact is not recommended. See MN Beaches and the the Park Point Beach websites for more information.

Two Rainwater Harvesting Workshops put on by the American Rainwater Catchment Systems association will be held this June in Minneapolis.

June 13th (100 level) and June 14th (200 level). Here's the brouchure.

You are invited to an exhibit opening:

Return to the River: The History of the St Louis River and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District

Thursday, June 7th: 5:30 - 7pm at the Depot (506 W. Michigan St., Duluth

Here's the Invitation

The Lake Superior National Esturaine Reserve (LSNERR) announces their brand new website.

TEACHERS: The World Water Monitoring Challenge is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies.

Check out the Protect Our Waterways brouchure.

Kingsbury Creek Restoration Project. The Duluth Audubon Society is teaming with the city of Duluth and the Duluth Stream Corps to work on the west side of Kingsbury Creek above the zoo to help remove invasive species and replant native species. Stay tuned for planting days that you can help with!

Save this date: May 17, beginning at 1 pm: Students from Denfeld High School will be planting trees in the area in celebration of Arbor Day!  Find out more at  www.duluthmn.gov/parks

Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Sale!

Saturday, May 19, 2012
9 am - 3 pm
Lake Superior College
Lower Parking Lot
2101 Trinity Road
Duluth, MN

The Western Lake Superior Sanitary District and the Regional Stormwater Protection Team are sponsoring a rain barrel and compost bin sale.

Rain barrels will be available for $50/unit.
Compost bins will be sold for $40.

Accepting credit cards & checks only

Download the flyer . For more information please call WLSSD at 218-722-0761 or visit wlssd.com.

Low Impact Development (LID) Workshop

Thursday, May 3rd from 9 am - 4 pm at the Barker's Island Conference Center

Check out this brochure for more information.

Friday, April 27th is RECYCLE YOUR e-JUNK DAY at LSC

When : Friday, April 27/ 10:00am - 3:00 pm

Where: LSC Lower East Parking Lot

Why: To get rid of your old electronic stuff... AND SAVE THE PLANET

Click here for all the info.

LakeVoice News has two new stories on fishing along the Duluth coastline:

"Smelt fishing brings Duluthians out for local tradition" and "Spring fishing at Lester River"

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Mandatory Permit Training for Lake Service Providers

April 20th in Ely, MN at the Grand Ely Lodge. For more training locations go to MN Waters.

For more information on who needs this trining go to the MN DNR website.

Turf Maintenance Workshop

A FREE training course for those involved in lawn and turf maintenance.

Wednesday, March 28th: 8 - 2:30

Lake Superior College - FREE LUNCH

Author of For Love of Lakes, Darby Nelson, will give a talk on his book Thursday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m., parking and admittance is free (cash bar!), at the Canal Park Lodge, North Shore room.

For Love of Lakes is a finalist in the Minnesota Book Award Competition.

For more information about this talk and other evening programs go to the Lake Superior Marine Museum website.

The St Louis River Estuary Science Summit 2012

March 8-9, 2012

Yellowjacket Union, University of Wisconsin – Superior

Website: http://lsnerr.uwex.edu/slrss/main.html

Everyone is welcome; Registration is Free

Register at: http://lsnerr.uwex.edu/slrss/reg.html

Please register by March 2nd.

Stormwater Pond BMP Management:
Design, Operation & Maintenance
Presenter: Shahram (Shane) Missaghi
UM Assistant Extension Professor, Water Resources
Thurs., Feb. 23 rd @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST, 1hr
Credits: 1 PDH / 0.1 CEUs $59.00

Register here for this live webinar

Mining in the States of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin

The Lake Superior Binational Forum has a new portal on its website that offers information about mining operations in the Lake Superior Basin.

The Living Green Conference is coming back to the Coppertop Church on February 4th. This year's conference will include a keynote talk by Mike Link and Kate Crowley about their Lake Superior full circle hike. Also workshops on living sustainably, 30+ vendors, family fun room and food. For more info take a look at this flier.

This workshop is intended for excavation contractors, grading contractors, public works staff, engineers, designers, planners, and public officials. This course will start with a hands on exercise and presentations on stormwater challenges, regulations, and available solutions or the stormwater BMPs. Various case studies will be analyzed to identify key good and bad practices. Presenters will include from local governments, agencies, contractors, and vendors. The afternoon session will follow with presentation by Rusty Schmidt, a nationally known speaker, on stormwater BMP function, design, and installation with a focus on stormwater infiltration practices.

Living Downstream - Doumentary Film

Thursday, Jaunary 19th; 6:30-8:30 pm at the EPA Water Quality Lab, 6201 Congdon Blvd.

Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters Natural Resource Committee and by MN Clean Water Action.

2012 Annual Membership Meeting

January 18, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 pm

Great Lakes Aquarium

For more info and the agenda go to the SLR Web site

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Lisa P. Jackson to visit the University of Minnesota.

A Conversation with EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on the Latest
National Environmental Policies and Recent Challenges to Environmental
Laws
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Coffman Memorial Union Theater
University of Minnesota

300 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
10:30 a.m. Check-in
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Presentation and audience conversation with
Lisa P. Jackson, moderated by Professor Deborah Swackhamer

Register now:

The event is open to the public but advanced reservations are
required. Register by Monday, January 16, at
http://jacksonumn.eventbrite.com. Space is limited.

Ask NRRI

"How does the far below average amount of snow this winter affect Minnesota water resources? "

New TMDL Listings

MPCA just put out their new TMDL list and there are some interesting new local entries:

• Keene Creek (for E coli)
• Kingsbury Creek (for aquatic inverts and fish)
• Miller Creek (for E coli and aquatic inverts)
• Skunk Creek for aquatic inverts and fish)
• Stewart Creek (for E coli)