Consulting engineers' reports tell a lot about the groundwater resources in the LMRWD and the dredge material management efforts we undertake to keep the river navigable.

Groundwater reports

As the 2005 groundwater report puts it, "Historically, the District has been involved to a relatively minor degree in groundwater management and monitoring, as the numerous fens and trout streams within the LMRWD are state-protected resources and the state has been fairly active in monitoring the higher profile resources." In an era of budget cuts and limited state funds, however, the LMRWD can help manage water resources in a more systematic way.

The groundwater reports:

• Introduce the LMRWD's hydrology
• Assess the most important water resources
• Recommend a monitoring program for several creeks, streams, and fens
• Remark on erosion, invasive species, and fen restoration efforts

Dredge management plans

Since the creation of the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District in the early 1960s, the LMRWD has been challenged by the problem of what to do with the sediment that must regularly be dredged from the Minnesota River to keep the navigation channel open for both commercial and recreational uses.

The LMRWD has worked diligently to identify locations along the river that are suitable for managing dredged material.  In the past, dredged material was used by local landfills as daily cover.  As landfills in the area have scaled back operations or closed, finding acceptable ways to reuse the dredged material has become increasingly difficult. In 2006 the LMRWD purchased a site at River Mile Post (RMP) 14.2 in order to stockpile material with the intention of finding suitable reuses of the material.

In 2013, the LMRWD with the aid of HDR Engineering developed a plan for how to manage material that is dredged from the river.  The Dredge Material Management Plan discusses how material can be de-watered on the RMP 14.2 site before it is transferred for reuse.

Material might be used:

• for fill at commercial construction sites;
• as sub-grade for parking lot and road projects; and
• possibly, mixed with compost, for landscaping alongside road construction projects.