News from the Rum River Watershed

Volume #1 Issue #3
September 2005

Sampling the vegetation of a fen in Isanti County

Letter from the Editor

From 2001 to 2003 the Isanti County Environmental Coalition took it upon themselves to assess
the condition of what seemed to be a pristine wetland in one of our county parks. Many
community organizations, the Anoka Ramsey Community College/Cambridge Branch, the MN
Dept. of Natural Resources and the Initiative Foundation all leant a hand in enabling the study.
Why was this study important? What did it have to do with the Rum River?

Well, for one thing, the water flowing through this bog-like wetland, called a “fen,” eventually
ends up in the Rum River. This type of wetland has in recent years been thought to act like a
sponge, filtering out fertilizers and pesticides as they flow off of adjacent agricultural fields and
urban areas before they move into other water systems. However, we saw signs that these
chemicals were having a negative impact on this wetland. Although still pristine, it was being
encroached upon by reed canary grass, an exotic plant from Europe once planted for
pasturage, and also an indicator that the fen was becoming more “mineral rich.” A high quality
fen or bog tends to be “mineral poor.”

Fertilizers, nutrients, pesticides, and other pollutants such as coliform bacteria, arsenic and
mercury can become problems in our watersheds. What is the status of these agents in the
Rum River watershed? Where are they going to end up?

Where do we stand now that the great city of New Orleans has been nearly blown off the map?
Just a month ago the complaint from that region was about what has been coming down the
Mississippi River from the northern states and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, creating a
“dead zone.” This huge area has much lower marine animal and plant diversity and less plant
and animal abundance than before man-made development occurred, and the dead zone has
been steadily expanding. The spoils of the storm from that city now seriously aggravate that
situation. But the great river still flows through it. And the Rum River still flows into the
Mississippi. It is still our responsibility to tend to our end of the bargain, and minimize what
undesired impacts our activity in Minnesota may have on the system. And that is why in this
issue the aim will still be to try to answer the question: Is the Rum River (and its watershed)
“impaired”? And if so, what can we do about it?

Contents:

• Is the Rum River “impaired”? How about its watershed?

• Mercury in our environment and how to control it
• The Rum River watershed in Anoka County
• Feature article by area hydrologist Mike Mueller: “Water Quality and Watersheds: Part 3”
• To be addressed in our November issue:
¾ What are some of the water resource issues in that obscure little country, Paraguay?
Why care? What does this have to do with Minnesota?
¾ Elaboration on efforts underway to form a “Friends of the Rum River” group in our area.
• January issue: Creative Thinking in the Rum River Watershed
• Mission/Vision Statements of NRRW
• Adding/removing names from RumRiverWatershedNews@yahoo.com list serve
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Is the Rum River “impaired”? How about its watershed?

What does it mean for a body of water to be “impaired”? The MN Pollution Control Agency
(MPCA) defines an impaired waterbody as “a waterbody that does not meet water quality
standards and designated uses because of pollutant(s), pollution, or unknown causes of
impairment.”

The MPCA has set upper acceptable limits for each substance that is known to have a negative
impact on a river, lake or stream. These are referred to as the Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) of each substance, or “the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can
receive and still meet water quality standards. TMDL also refers to the process of allocating
pollutant loadings among point (industrial and urban) and nonpoint (agricultural) sources. “

There are about 59 monitoring stations tracked by the MPCA in the Rum River watershed in
Anoka County, 46 in Isanti County, two in Kanabec County, 40 in Mille Lacs County and two in
Sherburne County. About 20 of these monitoring stations are on the Rum River itself. The rest
are still within its watershed, and are operated by volunteers and professionals reporting back
periodically to MPCA. Some of the stations monitor biological components, others measure the
chemistry of the water, and some do both. Chemical components include such aspects as
biological oxygen demand (BOD), chlorophyll A, transparency/turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO),
Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen (nitrates and nitrites) and pH.

On the whole, the river is considered in a fairly pristine condition regarding these parameters.
Measurements taken by environmental science classes under Brad Wold at the Anoka Ramsey
Community College (Cambridge branch) found no serious excesses in these parameters.
However, at least one other pollutant within the river occurs in elevated amounts: mercury.

Heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury are difficult to measure, requiring specialized field
equipment and lab facilities. Once in the natural system as pollutants, they are almost
impossible to remove. Arsenic does not appear to be a problem in the Rum River, but all of the
Rum River has restrictions applied to it as to safe levels of fish consumption due to mercury
contamination. Therefore, the whole river may be considered “impaired” due to mercury,
although officially only certain stretches are considered impaired, such as from the entrance of
Stanchfield Creek into the Rum River (Isanti County), to the mouth of the Rum River into the
Mississippi River (Anoka County.) Some sources of mercury are natural, but many are due to
human activity. See the subsequent article on precautions that can be taken to minimize
mercury contamination in our environment.

Mercury in our environment and how to control it (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture bulletin)

Mercury is a naturally occurring element in nature, and is also released into the environment by
human activity. These activities include (among others) vehicle fuel combustion, energy
production by coal plants, and various types of mining. Improper disposal of mercury-containing
products such as thermometers, cell phones, fluorescent lights and cathode ray tubes
(computer monitors, TV screens) also contributes to its increase in our lakes, streams, and
watersheds. Since mercury is a heavy metal and a dangerous neurotoxin that accumulates over
time in the muscles of all that consume it (such as fish, birds, and other animals including
humans) this is a matter of concern. Neurotoxins can cause irreversible nerve and brain
damage.

Mercury cannot be eliminated easily once it has accumulated in the natural environment or the
body of an organism. The following are some precautions we can take to prevent its release and
reduce unhealthy exposure:
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Precautions to Preserve the Environment

• Do your research and elect to purchase products that contain little or no mercury.
• Limit your family’s use of fossil-based fuels.
• Check with your local hazardous waste manager about the proper means of recycling
outmoded equipment in your county. Minnesota is a pioneer in regulating the disposal of
computer monitors. Do not dispose of computer monitors, televisions, fluorescent lights, cell
phones, etc, directly into the garbage.

Personal Precautions
• The MN Department of Natural Resources, the MN Pollution Control Agency and the
Environmental Protection Agency have all produced suggestions on fish consumption.
Larger game fish feed on smaller fish, and therefore accumulate more mercury. Go to
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/fca/index.html to check out the lakes and rivers where
you fish, and see how highly impaired they are for mercury. You will want to regulate your
fish intake accordingly. Women of childbearing age and children are especially at risk. This
website also provides suggestions on what type and quantity of fish are acceptable. Another
excellent site is http://www.epa.gov/mercury/advisories.htm.
• Mercury spills should be cleaned up carefully, and disposed of properly. Go to
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/disposal.htm for suggestions on how to control small-to-large
mercury spills. (A large spill may be as little as one tablespoon.) Contact your local MN DNR
office, MN PCA office, or Hazardous Waste Manager to determine disposal options.

The Rum River Watershed in Anoka County by Jamie Schurbon

(Anoka Soil and Water Conservation District, report excerpt)

The Rum River is regarded as one of Anoka County’s highest quality and most valuable water
resources. It is designated as a state scenic and recreational river throughout Anoka County,
except for south of the county fairgrounds. It is used for boating, tubing and fishing. Much of
western Anoka County drains into the Rum River. Watersheds that drain into the Rum include
Seelye, Trott, and Ford Brooks, and Cedar Creek.

In 2004, monitoring was conducted at three locations simultaneously to determine if Rum River
water quality changes in Anoka County, and if so, generally where the changes occur. The
Anoka Conservation District, in cooperation with the Upper Rum River Watershed Management
Organization (URRWMO), monitored near where the river enters Anoka County in St. Francis
and midway through the county (at Hwy 7, 2004.) The Metropolitan Council and Conservation
District cooperated to monitor at the Anoka Dam, near the confluence with the Mississippi,
where there has been ongoing monitoring since 1996. Water quality changes might be expected
from upstream to downstream because land use changes dramatically from rural residential in
the upstream areas to suburban in the downstream areas.

These data indicated overall very good water quality in the Rum River, but do reveal some
degradation in the downstream, more developed reaches. Some results:
• Conductivity, one general measure of chemical pollutants, is low throughout the river.
• Chlorides were at acceptable levels throughout the river, but the amount of chlorides
increases progressively downstream. In depth studies of tributaries to the Rum in the lower
Rum River watershed have found high chloride levels in certain tributary streams are due to
road deicing salts which infiltrate into the shallow groundwater and enter the stream
continuously throughout the year; this is likely also the case for the Rum River. Because
road density is higher in the downstream reaches of the watershed, it is not surprising that
chlorides increase downstream.
• Total phosphorus, a nutrient that can fuel excessive algal growth and indicate a variety of
runoff pollution, is within acceptable levels, and similar to the median for Anoka County and
the levels expected in a minimally impacted stream. It is highest in the downstream, most
developed reach.
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• Dissolved oxygen, needed by fish and other aquatic life, is also good. It is surprising that
dissolved oxygen increases in the slower downstream reaches of the river, because
turbulence in the upstream areas would be expected to increase mixing with the air. It
would also be expected that biological oxygen demand would be higher in these slower
downstream river stretches because organic materials are not as easily swept downstream.
These dissolved oxygen readings were taken within one hour of each other with the same
electronic meter.**

**Contact Jamie Schurbon at jamie.schurbon@anokaswcd.org if you would like to see this full
report, with interesting charts, graphics and recommendations. He has also worked with the
high school students of St. Francis High School (2004) and Anoka High School (2004) to
monitor the aquatic invertebrates that are pollution sensitive and whose presence are indicative
of high quality rivers and streams. The Rum River ranked well, for the most part. Those reports
are also available for public perusal.

Water Quality and Watersheds: Part 3 by Mike Mueller

Area hydrologist for Chisago and Isanti Counties, Mike Mueller continues his series on
watershed dynamics (Part 3 of 4). *

Near Spicer, Minnesota, studies were conducted on adjacent watersheds that emptied into a
series of lakes. One stream (County Ditch 29) has a watershed that is 75 percent agricultural
land uses and the stream functions as a drainage ditch. In the past this stream has been
straightened and deepened and the wetlands along its course have been drained. The adjacent
stream, Huse Creek, flows through an area of Sibley State Park and is still mostly the same
natural little stream it had always been. Though each stream drains about the same size
watershed area, the water coming out of the drainage ditch is drastically different than that
flowing from the natural channel.

One noticeable difference relates to the volume of water coming from each watershed. In the
channelized watershed, the runoff peaks less than 24 hours after a rain event starts and the
total volume is 14 times more than the flow from the natural stream. In other words, since there
are few natural features such as wetlands or forests to slow the channelized water, there is
more runoff and it flows downstream much faster. Just a few miles away however, the natural
landscape slows and filters the water.

Even more amazing is the effect on pollutants carried in the two watersheds. Samples were
taken that measured the amount of suspended sediments (i.e. soils) and phosphorous carried in
the runoff. The drainage ditch carried 15 times more suspended solids and 5 times more
phosphorous in each gallon of water than the natural stream. Not only was the volume
increased in the county ditch, but the pollutants increased as well.
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The study made one last comparison between the watersheds. It looked at land uses along
the channels, noting particularly where there was at least 50 feet of permanent vegetation along
each side of the channel. County ditches are required to leave 16 feet of vegetated buffer on
each side of the channel. The truth is, they seldom do. Moreover there are numerous side
ditches, called laterals, that help feed water from the fields to the main channel. In row crop
agriculture, leaving a buffer strip along lateral ditches is just not a part of conventional practices.
So as you look at this last graph, you can see that CD 29 had 75% agriculture (row crop) and
only 25% of the watershed in permanent vegetation. Huse Creek on the other hand, had the
percentages reversed. Land use does matter.

It is not always obvious how things tie together, in spite of all the facts and figures I have just
cited, so let me condense it a bit for you. If you made it this far, you learned that as we pave
things and build more homes we increase the amount of runoff. You also learned that as we
drain wetlands, straighten out streams and farm right up to the edge, we increase the amount of
runoff. In essence we are putting more water into the system, be it into a stream, a ditch, a
storm drain or a street gutter. Which means we must also be putting more pollutants into our
watershed as well. In fact, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the amount of
phosphorous that runs from urban land is the same amount as that which comes from intensely
farmed lands. So we can just as easily overload our lakes by farming as we can by developing.

In the future I will explore just what happens when all those nutrients get into the lake and what
we can do to prevent them from getting there in the first place.

*Used with permission of the author.

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Conclusions

So… it appears from this brief analysis that the length of the Rum River is still in fairly good
environmental condition, although there appears to be an increasing amount of mercury
entering the system. The latter is true of many water bodies in Minnesota, and is due in part to
our increasing use of fossil fuels by coal plants, our automobiles, and technically advanced tools
and toys.

Protective measures have been and are being taken to preserve the Rum River under its “wild
and scenic” designation. However, these only apply inland a hundred yards or so on either side
of the river. What is happening within the rest of the area that the river drains? New
developments and industry are springing up rapidly in the fringe counties of the Twin Cities
metropolitan area, and it is difficult for the individual mind to keep pace with it. Previously
untouched natural areas are being eyed as potential agricultural areas.

Subsequent issues of this newsletter will deal with some of these issues.

And now – from the notepad of a friend of mine –

A View from the Backwaters of the Rum by Barb Gillespie

Then another sound… a rhythmic and hushed folding of water. As I turn my eyes fail me and I
narrow my field of vision trying to fathom the thing before me. Two dark mounds rising and
falling in the shallow swamp to the left. I confess a fleeting wild thought – Loch Ness! Probably
not. More likely the back of a drowning deer in a slow surrender to the thick water… no, not that
either. I leash poor Noah to a tree, and with an attempt at stealth, close the distance between
myself and the mystery. At the edge of the water I stand in wonder and awe at the sight. Two
ancient lovers, who had risen up from the mire to roll and caress in the water-diamonds of this
quiet bog. I squat down in the brown islands of grass and watch, overwhelmed at this privilege,
and feel no shame at my first exercise in voyeurism.

(Excerpt from an essay by Barb Gillespie of Cambridge, MN. Watch for the full account of her
encounter with two snappers in our January issue, which will be a special production of creative
writing pertaining to the Rum River watershed.

We invite submissions! Poetry, essays, illustrations, whatever. Length limit: one page single –
space. Will be used and edited at the discretion of the editor. Email your entry to
RumRiverWatershedNews-owner@yahoogroups.com by December 15, 2005.)

Mission Statement:
To provide a base of knowledge that we can use to help make wise decisions concerning the
Rum River watershed.

Vision Statement
To improve our ability, both as part of the private and as part of the public sector, to care for the
Rum River watershed and all of the associated watersheds that make up the Mississippi River
system.

Contact Information:
Kriste Ericsson, Editor
News from the Rum River Watershed
PO Box 82, Grandy, MN 55029
RumRiverWatershedNews-owner@yahoogroups.com

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