Nearshore Monitoring in Wisconsin's Lake Superior coast for nutrient conditions leading to Harmful Algal blooms

National Coastal Condition Assessment Additional Water Quality Measurements 2021

A summary of 2019 discharge conditions, water quality, aquatic vegetation and fish monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Pool 8, near La Crosse, WI within the historical perspective of long-term monitoring from 1993-2018. Authors: Andrew Bartels - Wisconsin DNR Fisheries Specialist, Deanne Drake - Wisconsin DNR Vegetation Specialist, and John Kalas - Wisconsin DNR Water Quality Specialist. Topic Experts: Andrew Bartels (fisheries and hydrology), Deanne Drake (aquatic vegetation), and John Kalas (water quality).

Long Term Resource Monitoring Program Mississippi River Monitoring Field Station

Duckweed and other free-floating plants (FFP) can form dense surface mats that affect ecosystem condition and processes, and can impair public use of aquatic resources. FFP obtain their nutrients from the water column, and the formation of dense FFP mats can be a consequence and indicator of river eutrophication. We conducted two complementary surveys of diverse aquatic areas of the Upper Mississippi River as an in situ approach for estimating thresholds in the response of FFP abundance to nutrient concentration and physical conditions in a large, floodplain river. Local regression analysis was used to estimate thresholds in the relations between FFP abundance and phosphorus (P) concentration (0.167 mg l−1), nitrogen (N) concentration (0.808 mg l−1), water velocity (0.095 m s−1), and aquatic macrophyte abundance (65 % cover). FFP tissue concentrations suggested P limitation was more likely in spring, N limitation was more likely in late summer, and N limitation was most likely in backwaters with minimal hydraulic connection to the channel. The thresholds estimated here, along with observed patterns in nutrient limitation, provide river scientists and managers with criteria to consider when attempting to modify FFP abundance in offchannel areas of large river systems.

Long Term Resource Monitoring Program. An element of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Environmental Management Program. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Water Quality Summary Report of General Trends - Monitoring of Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Selected Backwater Areas of the Upper Mississippi during the winter of 1988-1989 at Big Lake-Pool 4, Long Lake and Belle Island areas of Pool 7, French Lake and I-90 in Pool 8, Gremore Lake, Pool 10 and McCartney Lake, Pool 11

Continuous Dissolved Oxygen and Water Temperature Monitoring in Pool 8 Backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River May-September, 2010

A compilation of quotes about the Mississippi River at various locations by Zebulon Pike, Henry Schoolcraft, William Keating, George Featherstonhaugh, Charles Lanman, and Gouveneur Warren from the 1800s.

Site Specific TSS Standard Development for Lake Pepin Sediment TMDL

Anthropogenic enrichment of freshwater systems have largely focused on impacts of excessive nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, in lakes. Targets for improvements in lakes have centered on the control of nuisance sestonic algae, that contribute to algal blooms. Algal toxicity problems, foultasting drinking water, unsightly conditions and other use impairments. Mid-summer water chemistry and metaphyton biomass measurements were collected in eleven backwater areas from Wisconsin’s Mississippi River floodplain during 2003 to 2007. The sampling sites extended from Pool 5 below Ama, WI to Pool 9 near Desoto, WI. This report covers: Water Quality and Metaphyton Cover and Cover type; Metaphyton and Chlorophyll Correlations; Metaphyton Tissue Analysis; and Proposed Nitrogen and Phosphorus Criteria.

Temporal Changes in Contaminant Levels in Suspended Sediment at Locks and Dams 3 and 4 on the Mississippi River - TABLES

Temporal Changes in Contaminant Levels in Suspended Sediment at Locks and Dams 3 and 4 on the Mississippi River

Continuous Dissolved Oxygen and Water Temperature Monitoring in Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River during January and February 2004

Proposed Light-Related Water Quality Criteria Necessary to Sustain Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in the Upper Mississippi River by the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee Water Quality Technical Section October 2003. Includes Onalaska Lake, Weaver Bottoms, Lock and Dams 8 and 9 within Pool 9.

Water Quality and Meteorological Monitoring Used in the Assessment of Water Level Drawdown of Navigation Pool 8 of Upper Mississippi River in 2001

Evaluation of Sediment Remediation Conducted at the U. S. Corps of Engineers Marine Maintenance Facility on the Mississippi River at Fountain City, Wisconsin

Trend analysis of water quality measurements at four sites on the Mississippi River

Total PCB concentrations in the Mississippi River near Lock and Dam 3 exceeded Wisconsin’s water criteria for the river. Methods used were Particulate and Dissolved PCBs; and Sediment Traps. Sediment Traps versus Particulate-Phase Water Samples are discussed.

Zebra Mussel-Induced Water Quality Impacts in the Mississippi River Observed during the Summer of 1997

Mississippi River Water Quality Surveys and Reports 1986-1997 Summary of 10 years of main monitoring purposes including Condition, Dredging Evaluation, HREP, Point Source Evaluation, Resource Analysis Program, Stream Classification, and Trend.

Metallics Inc. has been discharging process wastewater to Halfway Creek in 1988. This survey is to evaluate water quality impacts associated with the discharge using automated monitoring equipment.

Short term continuous WQ monitoring surveys were conducted to define diurnal changes in response to a major habitat rehabilitation project at Weaver Bottoms in late 1986. Continuous measurements were collected in the northern and southern portion of Weaver Bottoms during July and August from 1986-1995 except for 1987.

Prepared for the USEPA Flood Assessment Grant (WQ) No. 1995495-01 Sediment Monitoring Project.

Tri-Matrix PCB Study Pool 5A, Upper Mississippi River includes Bioavailable, Adsorbed and Dissolved Phases of polychlorinated biphenyls. To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of each monitoring technique at sensing the distribution of PCBs that may have emanated from this site.

Mississippi River Phosphorus Study Section 2 Quality Assurance-Quality Control Report with Metropolitan Waste Control Agency, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This is a 1991 River Phosphorus Study to evaluate the impact of phosphorus loads to Spring Lake (Pool 2) and Lake Peppin (Pool 4) in the Upper Mississippi using samples at Lock and Dam 3 between June and August of 1992.

Metallics Inc. has been discharging process

Construction of the Lake Onalaska HREP project, constructed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation under a Section 215 agreement with the Corps of Engineers, began in May of 1989 and was completed in July of 1990. The dredging portion of the project was finished by November 1989. A detailed description of the project can be found in the U.S. Corps of Engineers 1971 documentation. This report evaluates the water quality monitoring and hydraulic studies associated with the dredge cut near Rosebud Island with an emphasis on the resulting water quality and hydraulic changes.

PCBs have been monitored in the Upper Mississippi River environment over the last 17 years by Federal and State agencies, public and private institutions and by point source dischargers to the river. A majority of this monitoring has involved the analysis of fish and sediment samples. This report reviews the PCB data since the problem was identified in 1970. Additional PCB data have been collected on other important river ecosystem compartments including: mayflies, turtles, waterfowl, heron and egret eggs, aquatic macrophytes, bottom and suspended sediments and water. Report topics include: PCB Measurements and Analysis; Background on Upper Mississippi River PCB Problem; Upper Mississippi River PCB Data; Wisconsin’s Fish PDB Data; Invertebrates; Birds; Water; Suspended Sediments; Sediments; Backwater Sediments – Lake Onalaska; Tentative Sediment Criterion for the UMR ; PCB Sources; Municipal Effluents – Twin Cities Area; Atmospheric Contribution – Twin Cities Area; Runoff From Contaminated Land Surfaces; and Contaminated Sediments.

Stratigrahic analsis of a sediment core obtained from a deep depression in the Eau Pleine Reservoir, Wisconsin was made in 1976.