MPCA is developing a basin and major watershed approach for planning and implementing its programs and activities. The Minnesota River basin is subdivided into 12 major watersheds, which are distinct hydrologic units. The landscape, climate, and agronomic characteristics of each watershed vary considerably. A summary of these characteristics is available for each major watershed.
Many of the tributaries in each major watershed have a water quality monitoring station. For a detailed description of water quality in the Minnesota River basin select the sections on "Water quality overview" and "Tributary long-term water quality summary" from the main menu.
For each major watershed, the MPCA will engage all stakeholders within the watershed in discussions and coordinated planning efforts that cross county boundaries. The planning cycle involves six steps, namely; (1) identification of impaired waterbodies and the type of impairment, (2) prioritization of the impaired water bodies according to risk and severity of the pollution, value of the resource, and likelihood for success, (3) development of integrated management strategies involving a combination of technical assistance, education, financial incentives, monitoring and water quality standards, and regulation, (4) preparation of a watershed management plan with specific goals, actions, partnership strategies, and monitoring plans, (5) implementation of the watershed management plan, and (6) evaluation of changes in water quality.
No major watershed has a homogeneous composition. Each watershed contains a complex mixture of soil types, landscapes, climatic regimes, land use characteristics, and agricultural systems. Yet, this complexity is not unmanageable. Each watershed can be subdivided into agroecoregions having similar soil types, landscapes, climatic regimes, crop and animal productivities, and hydrologic characteristics. The physical, agronomic, and hydrologic characteristics of a watershed can then be described and represented using a few relatively homogeneous agroecoregions.
The characteristics of each agroecoregion affect crop and animal management and productivity within the watershed, and determine the potential for production of various types of non-point source pollution. For instance, one agroecoregion within a watershed may be characterized by steep landscapes with loamy well drained soils that support corn and soybeans as well as small grain production. Another may be characterized by flat landscapes with poorly drained silty clay soils that support primarily corn and soybean production. These two agroecoregions have different water erosion potentials and are suitable for a unique and different suite of crop management practices. Thus, the use of agroecoregion characteristics within the context of basin and watershed planning strengthens the planning process by providing detailed information for several factors that affect both farm management and water quality.
Agroecoregion planning is useful in conjunction with watershed planning for developing a list of priority needs in monitoring, research, education, and implementation activities for specific portions of the Minnesota River basin. Using the agroecoregion characteristics along with existing water quality monitoring information, it is possible to determine where the steepest and most erosive landscapes are located, where the water quality problems are most severe, where land use patterns are most conducive to non- point source pollution production, and where the research knowledge base concerning sources of pollution and methods of managing pollution is weakest.
Return to Main Manu