A pilot program meant to preserve Mille Lacs’ water quality starts with individual lakeshore property owners.
Excavation prepared a 1955 flood control structure to retain sediment for 30 more years, resetting the topsoil trap.
Upstream projects gain downstream support as One Watershed, One Plan catches on.
Recreational use grows as crews remove snags.
Cedar Beach on Lake Zumbro is one of 30-plus communities to benefit from a grassroots approach to solving hard-to-fix, out-of-compliance septic problems.
“The river cutting into the clay was talking thousands of tons of sediment away.”
The Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District is pursuing a drawdown, ag incentives, invasive species management and landowner education.
Addressing targeted, out-of-compliance sites will improve water quality in the Sauk River and its chain of lakes.
“What I’m trying to do is protect my land at its most vulnerable time of year.”
Landowner works with Benton SWCD; project draws from Clean Water Fund grant, NRCS Environmental Quality Incentive Program assistance.