Location: Glenwood, Minnesota
Client: Pope Soil and Water Conservation District
Background
The Pope SWCD has placed a priority on the protection and improvement of water quality assessment for Lake Minnewaska.
BWSR granted a Clean Water Fund grant to Pope SWCD to complete a water quality assessment for the City of Glenwood watershed, which drains into Lake Minnewaska.
The assessment aimed to help identify and target subwatersheds, parcels, and water quality BMP projects through detailed water quality and GIS analysis.
The Project
HEI began gathering data on the existing stormwater infrastructure, focusing on both conveyance and water quality treatment practices. HEI also sought to identify and gather information for locations that are prone to flooding.
HEI created a SWMM model to analyze conveyance capacity throughout the city and determine whether conveyances met current standards as well as the SWCD’s needs. In total, approximately 125 subwatersheds were identified and modeled. Total phosphorus (TP) and total suspended sediment (TSS) loading were analyzed using P8 modeling software. This information was used to focus efforts where they were most needed.
Based on the gathered data, HEI evaluated numerous conceptual BMP opportunities, measuring their potential effectiveness and estimating the cost of each.
HEI presented modeling results and prioritized BMP implementation recommendations to the Pope SWCD and City of Glenwood. The SWCD now has the resources to move forward with confidence in its efforts to preserve the water quality of Lake Minnewaska.
Client Benefits
- Through several evaluations, HEI helped determine the BMPs that would have result in the greatest improvements to Lake Minnewaska’s water quality.
- Studies helped determined where BMPs would be most cost effective.
- The Pope SWCD has extensive data that will allow the SWCD to choose its own path forward in the coming years.