Summary of State of Minnesota water quality guidelines for stormwater harvesting and reuse systems for Irrigation
Link to this table

Water Quality Parameter Impact of Parameter 10 Water Quality Guideline – Public Access Areas Water Quality Guideline – Restricted Access Areas Water Quality Guideline – Irrigation of Food Crops Comments
E. coli Public Health 126 E. coli/100mL Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 2,3
Turbidity Irrigation System Function 2-3 NTU Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 4,5
TSS Irrigation System Function 5 mg/L Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 4,5,6
pH Plant Health 6-9 Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 4
Chloride Plant Health; Corrosion of Metals 500 mg/L Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 7
Zinc Plant Health 2 mg/L (longterm use); 10 mg/L (shortterm use) Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 8
Copper Plant Health 0.2 mg/L (longterm use); 5 mg/L (shortterm use) Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 8
Temperature Public Health Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date Guidance to be determined at a future date 9

2 – MPCA Bacterial Impairment Standard: 126 E. coli/100mL (geometric mean of 5 samples in 30 day period); no individual samples greater than 1260 E. coli/100mL
3 – EPA 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria – Recommendation 1 (Estimated illness rate = 36/1000)
4 – Based on typical range/value for water reuse programs in other states
5 –Useful for distribution system design, but often used a general indicator parameter, too.
6 – TSS guidance provided by Cathy Tran, DLI
7 – Per Table R.3b.6 in Metropolitan Council Stormwater Reuse Guide
8 – Suggested by Bruce Wilson. Per Table R.3b.5 in Metropolitan Council Stormwater Reuse Guide
9 - Recommendation from Anita Anderson on 12/6/2012 email as temperature impacts bacterial growth
10 –Per Tables R.1a.1 and R.3b.5 in Metropolitan Council Stormwater Reuse Guide

This page was last edited on 3 August 2022, at 20:16.