(St. Paul, MN) -- Officials say efforts to reduce phosphorus in the Minnesota River have improved water quality faster than expected. Testing this summer found dissolved oxygen levels sufficient to support fish and other aquatic life. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner John Linc Stine credits more than 100 communities with wastewater treatment facilities along the river, saying their efforts to reduce phosphorus loading have paid off. But Stile says the Minnesota River still has problems with nitrogen levels, sediment runoff from farm fields and storm sewers, and endocrine-disrupting compounds from pharmaceutics and other waste products.
E-Mail
Print