Within days of his second Water Summit in late January, Gov. Mark Dayton announced a new water quality goal for the state: to improve Minnesota’s water quality 25% by 2025.

The governor’s office pointed out that without additional action, the quality of Minnesota’s waters is expected to improve only 6 % to 8% by 2034. If approved by the Legislature, Dayton’s proposal would further engage local governments, farmers, scientists, environmental groups and business leaders in a collaborative effort to address Minnesota’s water quality challenges.

The effort also would help Minnesota meet existing commitments to reduce phosphorus 12% by 2025 and nitrogen 45% by 2040 in the Mississippi River, according to a governor’s office press release.

Dayton’s proposed “25 by ‘25” water quality goal would be flexible, allowing each of Minnesota’s eight local watershed regions to decide which pollutants to address and which strategies to employ.

The proposal offers examples of what a 25% improvement in water quality would mean for these Minnesota waters:

• Forget-Me-Not-Lake, Becker County: A 25% reduction in phosphorus would increase water clarity and support the lake’s aquatic life.
• German-Jefferson Chain of Lakes, Le Sueur County: A 25% reduction in phosphorus would put a dent in the 60% reduction needed to address major algae problems.
• Budd Lake, Martin County: A 25% reduction in nitrate would protect public health, as nitrate levels have exceeded drinking water standards and have led to disruptions in drinking water supplies.
• Cannon and Whitewater rivers in Goodhue, Olmsted and Winona counties: A 25% reduction in bacteria would increase the number of days that the Cannon River in Goodhue County and the Whitewater River in Olmsted and Winona counties are safe for swimming, canoeing and tubing.

Dayton, known for his strong stance on the state’s water quality, has a broad agenda: clean, affordable water for all state residents. Thus far into the 2017 legislative season, Dayton has proposed and/or enacted:

• investing $214 million from the Clean Water Fund into local government efforts to protect sensitive groundwater and drinking water resources
• signed an agreement with the USDA Farm Service Agency to provide $350 million in federal funding to protect and improve waters across 60,000 acres in 54 Minnesota counties; as part of the agreement, Minnesota must commit $150 million in funding, with $54.8 million already invested, and Dayton proposed to invest $30 million for this effort
• proposed buffer aid payments of $40 per acre to help farmers implementing water quality buffers on their land
• proposed $80 million for a Water Infrastructure Funding Program to increase aid to communities that are rehabilitating aging wastewater and drinking water infrastructure systems
• proposed $62 million for a Point Source Implementation Grant Program; approximately 4,603 bodies of water in Minnesota are now impaired, according to the state’s Pollution Control Agency, and grants would help local governments pay for needed water treatment plant upgrades

Source: Office of Gov. Mark Dayton