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North St. Louis County is renown for its beautiful lakes
and streams and we intend to keep it that way by offering a variety of services
for landowners so that they may best manage their property.
Key Programs
- Lake Water Quality
Improving background information on targeted lakes within St. Louis
County is an important step in protecting the valuable water resources of
our area. Technical assistance is provided to Lake Associations or
concerned landowners in the following areas: 1) Lake sampling (collection of
water samples for further analysis, temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH) 2)
Watershed assessment
(watershed delineation and land use inventory) and 3) Development of a lake assessment report (sampling procedures, results and data, and recommendations). For a discussion of fees, please contact
us.
- Rain Gauge Monitoring
The North St. Louis SWCD coordinates a network of 25 rain gauges
district-wide that are perated by volunteers. Each
volunteer measures daily precipitation with a cylinder-style rain gauge. The data is compiled by our office and forwarded to the Minnesota State Office of Climatology. If interested in
becoming a rain gauge volunteer (gauges provided at no cost), please contact
our
office.
- Erosion Control
Controlling soil erosion not only reduces transport of sediment, but it
also reduces the movement of nutrients and additional chemicals, thereby
protecting surface water quality.
Planning and design
assistance is available for: 1) Shoreline and streambank stabilization
(rock riprap and bioengineering) 2) Lakeshore alterations (tree plantings,
diversions, and filterstrip establishment) 3) Urban construction projects
(sediment basins, diversions, and critical area seedings) and 4) Borrow pit
reclamation (bank stabilization, seeding and mulching, and diversions).
Cost-share assistance may be available depending on the nature of the
project.
- Stormwater Best Management Practices
On Saturday, May 7th, 2005, the City of Virginia's Lake Beautification
Committee sponsored a "Clean-up Day" for their two urban lakes.
Along with this clean-up day, volunteers distributed an
informational packet to city homeowners with helpful tips to reduce urban
runoff into the lakes. Click here for further information about
managing stormwater runoff into lakes.
- Shore Impact Zone Re-Vegetation
The St. Louis County Zoning Ordinance states
that the removal of natural vegetation within the shore and bluff impact zones is restricted and limited to the following: A) The removal of
dead, diseased, dangerous, and storm or fire damaged trees, shrubs
and plants B) The trimming and pruning of trees, shrubs, and
plants C) The removal of 25% of trees, shrubs, and plants.
It is
within these zones that vegetation is most crucial for 1) providing screening of your structure for your privacy and to increase aesthetic value of the lakeshore and 2) filtering sediment and nutrients from runoff that could impair the water quality of
your lake. Please
contact us for assistance with the design of re-vegetation plans.
Click here for additional information.
- Well-Sealing Cost-Share
Well-sealing cost-share assistance (maximum
50%) is available for landowners who meet certain criteria defined by the State of Minnesota.
Contact our office for a list of the
criteria.
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