The Cannon River
is one of only few rivers in Minnesota designated by the state as a wild and
scenic. It is a popular canoeing and fishing river and a major tributary to
the Upper Mississippi. Many of these activities, both past and present have
major impacts on the water quality of the Cannon and its tributaries. Intensive
agricultural land use in Rice county and recent demands for urban development
has increased non-point pollution sources and the rate of storm water run-off
into the tributaries of Cannon River and the Cannon river itself. This storm
water run-off may contain many different types of contaminates and could have
major impacts on the fragile ecosystem of Cannon River.
The Student and Citizen Monitoring Program focus on non-point source pollution
within the Cannon River Watershed. This program examines the water quality of
the lakes and streams, sub-basin drainage systems that flow into the Cannon
River. So far, Wolf Creek, Rice Creek, Hearth Creak and Prairie Creek, Cannon
Lake, Hunt Lake, Rice Lake, Cedar Lake, Kelley-Dudley Lake,Roberds Lake, Circle
Lake, Fox Lake, and Union Lake and have been studied.
Data collected will is used to educate students on the potential non-pointsource
pollution problems within the watershed and Best Management Practices (BMP's)
to help reduce these problems. Students will be able to see the potential we
all have to contribute to non-point source pollution in our daily lives.