Location: Sauk Center, Minnesota
Client: Sauk River Watershed District
Background
In March 2015, the Sauk River Watershed District (SRWD) needed to prioritize locations for best management practices (BMPs) and conservation practices (CPs) within the Ashley Creek and Adley Creek watersheds. To do this they hired HEI to assist in performing a desktop analysis.
The Project
HEI used the Prioritize, Target, and Measure Application (PTMApp) to successfully perform the desktop analysis. The PTMApp assesses the total phosporous (TP), total nutrient (TN), and sediment discharging from specific parcel/field locations to determine where BMPs can be implemented for the best results. The PTMApp required several types of data in order to run successfully, including results from an HSPF model that was developed prior to HEI’s analysis.
HEI ran a treatment train in the PTMApp to better estimate the benefits of implementing multiple practices. The following implementation scenarios were run for each subwatershed:
- Largest Load Reduction Practices
- The Most Cost-Effective Practices
PTMApp measured the potential reductions in TP, TN, and sediment for each scenario to identify which have the highest water quality improvements.
Based on PTMApp results, HEI recommended the use of the second scenario for both Ashley Creek and Adley Creek subwatersheds. The second scenario has a significant increase in load reductions over the first, and so it will provide the highest increase in water quality.
The desktop analysis, along with all the data used and generated throughout, was summarized in a report and presented to the SRWD in August 2016.
This project is used as a statewide template for performing desktop analyses to target BMP locations.
Client Benefits
» Client Benefits
Measured water quality improvements from each targeted BMP and CP.
The SRWD is better positioned to receive additional grants to continue implementing practices at priority locations.
Received training on how to use the data in implementation.