Protection of surface and groundwater

Protection is an opportunity to prevent waters from continued degradation which may result in impairment. Prevention or protection is often more easily accomplished than the restoration of an impaired waterbody. Protection efforts also may eliminate the need for additional permit and other regulatory requirements to reduce pollution. Successful protection efforts rely on understanding how current practices or conditions may be contributing to water quality conditions.

High risk surface waters

Preventing a waterbody from being contaminated with chloride is easier and more cost effective than restoration. Chloride is a conservative ion and will not break down over time but rather it accumulates in waters. Therefore, efforts should be made to protect waters that show an increasing trend in chloride concentration or have been shown to have chloride concentrations approaching the water quality criteria. Lakes, wetlands, or streams with at least one sample within 10% of the chronic water quality standard within the last 10 years have been identified as a high risk waterbody (one exceedance of 207 mg/L chloride). Proactive actions to reduce chloride loads to these high risk waterbodies should be pursued. Proactive actions similar to actions listed for impaired waters should be explored to protect high risk waters. These waters are considered to be approaching the water quality standard and if no actions are taken, they will likely reach impairment status in the near future. The TCMA lakes and streams identified as being at high risk for potential chloride impairment are shown in the High Risk Lakes in the TCMA table and the High Risk Streams in the TCMA table, respectively.

It should be noted that there are potentially many more high risk waters in the TCMA that have not been identified because there is limited or no monitoring data available for those waters. For this reason, similar proactive approaches to chloride management should be taken to prevent chloride contamination.

All surface waters and groundwater

In addition to the high risk waters listed above, protecting all surface waters and groundwater from further degradation due to chloride is important. By implementing salt reducing practices throughout the TCMA, both the need to restore those waters already impaired and also protect those waters not yet exceeding the standard are addressed. The practices necessary for protection of groundwater are the same as those for restoring and protecting surface waters. Through targeting and prioritization a starting point can be established. Management practices and BMPs used for impaired and high risk waters can be the same for all waterbodies and should provide the same level of protection and chloride reduction.

High risk lakes in the TCMA
Link to this table

Lakes AUID
Beaver Lake 62-0016-00
Bennett Lake 62-0048-00
Calhoun Lake 27-0031-00
Centerville Lake 02-0006-00
Crosby Lake 62-0047-00
Crystal Lake 27-0034-00
Fish Lake 19-0057-00
Gervais Lake 62-0007-00
Hiawatha Lake 27-0018-00
Johanna Lake 62-0078-00
Keller Lake (Main) 62-0010-02
Lake Of The Isles 27-0040-00
McCarron Lake 62-0054-00
Medicine Lake 27-0104-00
Ryan Lake 27-0058-00
Taft Lake 27-0683-00
Unnamed Lake 62-0278-00
Wabasso Lake 62-0082-00
Wakefield Lake 62-0011-00


High risk streams in the TCMA
Link to this table

Streams AUID
Bevens Creek 07020012-718
Bluff Creek 07020012-710
Classen Lake Creek 07010206-703
Clearwater Creek 07010206-519
County Ditch 17 (Spring Brook) 07010206-557
Credit River 07020012-517
Diamond Creek 07010206-525
Dutch Lake Outlet 07010206-678
Fish Creek 07010206-606
Painter Creek 07010206-700
Rush Creek 07010206-528
Unnamed Creek 07010206-704
Unnamed Creek 07010206-740
Unnamed Creek (Pleasure Ck) 07010206-594
Unnamed Stream (Perro Ck) 07030005-612
Unnamed Stream (Sand Ck) 07010206-744
Unnamed Stream (Trib To Long Lk) (Furgala Creek) 07030005-765
Unnamed Stream In Plymouth 07010206-738
Unnamed Stream Receiving Wtr From Medicine Lk 07010206-785

This page was last edited on 23 November 2022, at 16:36.