DuluthStreams - St. Louis River






	Select a Stream North Shore Streams Overview Map Amity Creek Baptism River Beaver River Brule River Caribou River Cascade River E. Split Rock River Encampment River Flute Reed River French River Gooseberry River Knife River Lester River Poplar River Split Rock River (Big) Sucker River Sugarloaf Creek Talmadge River Duluth Streams Overview Map A - K Streams Amity Creek Bowser St. Creek Brewery Creek Buckingham Creek Chester Creek Clarkhouse Creek Coffee Creek Gary St. Creek Gogebic St. Creek Greys Creek Heard St. Creek Keene Creek Kingsbury Creek Knowlton Creek L - Z Streams Lenroot St. Creek Lester River Merritt Creek Miller Creek Mission Creek Morgan Park Creek Oregon Creek Sargent Creek St. Louis River Stewart Creek Tischer Creek U.S. Steel Creek Numbered Streams - East 34th Ave East Creek 37th Ave East Creek 38th Ave East Creek 40th Ave East Creek 43rd Ave East Creek 47th Ave East Creek 50th Ave East Creek 58th Ave East Creek Numbered Streams - West 32nd Ave West Creek 41st Ave West Creek 44th Ave West Creek 49th Ave West Creek 62nd Ave West Creek 68th Ave West Creek 79th Ave West Creek 82nd Ave West Creek 84th Ave West Creek 85th Ave West Creek Other Watersheds Mud Lake Steelton South Shore Streams Overview Map Nemadji River Cloquet Streams Overview Map Fond du Lac Creek Otter Creek Simian Creek Saint Louis River Trout Streams North Shore Trout Streams Duluth Trout Streams South Shore Trout Streams Current Data About Data QA/QC Reports General North Shore Duluth Area St Louis River / Duluth - Superior Harbor South Shore Creek News Weber Restoration

ST. LOUIS RIVER

Stream Data

data viewer
- at lift bridge
- estuary/AOC
weekly data
DNR/MPCA hydrology (exit)
water levels in the SLR watershed rivers & reservoirs (exit)
water chemistry
storm events
spring runoff
thermal events
slope
bacteria (exit)

Watershed Facts

Fish/Bug Data (exit)

GIS/Maps

Photographs

Issues

Impairments (exit)
St. Louis River Restoration Initiative (2009)
Harbor Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC)
Reports
St. Louis River Alliance (exit)
Mercury TMDL Studies
- region
- state-wide
Other Superior TMDLs
- Amity (pre-TMDL)
- Knife (exit)
- Miller
- Poplar

Superior N.E.R.R (exit)

Area of Concern (AOC)

EPA (exit)
Minnesota (exit)
Wisconsin (exit)

History (exit)

Recreation

A unique monitoring site,
the St. Louis River mouth is influenced not only by river water flowing downstream but also occasionally by Lake Superior water flowing upstream due to the lake's seiche.

The St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior, drains 3,634 square miles, entering the southwestern corner of the lake between Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. The river flows 179 miles through three distinct areas; coarse soils, glacial till and outwash deposits at its headwaters; a deep narrow gorge at Jay Cooke State Park; and red clay deposits at its lower reaches. As the river approaches Duluth and Superior it takes on the characteristics of a 12,000 acre (4856 hectare) freshwater estuary. While the upper part of the estuary has some wilderness-like qualities, the lower portion is decidedly urban.

The lower St. Louis River is one of 42 Areas of Concern (AOC) in the Lake Superior basin. An AOC is a site that has serious environmental pollution problems that require remedial action and the development of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) to outline ways to restore the area. See EPA GLNPO for more information on the Great Lakes AOCs. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a web page that discusses contaminated sediments within the St Louis River.

A large publicly owned wastewater treatment plant (Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, WLSSD) discharges into the river, and the river carries a heavy load of suspended sediments from non-point sources. The river also has a number of sites known to contain contaminated sediments. See our Reports page for more details.

The lower St Louis provides good fish habitat and is an excellent warm water fishery. However, the recent invasion of exotic fish (Eurasian ruffe and round goby) may threaten native fish populations (see MN Sea Grant exotic species ).

The St. Louis Bay has been listed by the MPCA as impaired (fecal coliform).

Over 50,000 cubic yards of petroleum- contaminated sediment and soil from Newton Creek and parts of Hog Island Inlet were dug up and safely disposed. This location is part of the St. Louis River AOC.

Read about the project in this edition of the Creek News.

Other editions of Creek News, featuring area streams, are found here.