This semi-monthly column examines the issue of water through eight conversation topics. Our goal is to look at water in the context of the Minnesota River Watershed.

In the past, we haven’t treated water like the precious resource it is, and allowed human activities to pollute our water sources. Water might be all around us but it is still something that needs to be protected for today and future generations.

In this edition, read about how two environmental disasters related to water affected how we respond and look at our waterbodies. Learn more about storm water and what can be done to lessen the impact of pollution ending up in our rivers and lakes. Discover what makes the Greater Blue River Watershed unique and think about attending the next quarterly meeting of the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance. This column also highlights the Friends of Minneopa and paddling the Blue Earth River.

Water: Cuyahoga River and Clean Water Act
The nature of protecting our nation’s rivers took an important turn on June 22, 1969, when the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire from oil-soaked debris floating on the water’s surface. A spark from a passing train most likely ignited the river. Fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze in 30 minutes with only $50,000 in damage. This wasn’t the first time the river started on fire — In 1952, an inferno caused over a million dollars in damage.

Time magazine reported the health of the Cuyahoga River in an August 1969 article: “Some river! Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gases, it oozes rather than flows.” What this fire really sparked was a national debate on the health of our rivers and it motivated people to become more involved in protecting the environment.

Along with a number of other disasters, the Cuyahoga River fire helped push legislation for the Clean Water Act and creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Did you know: January 23, 1963
On Jan. 23, 1963, a steel storage tank ripped open at a seam and more than three million gallons of golden soybean oil poured into a four-block area of southwest Mankato. The 40-foot high by 100-feet wide tank was part of the Honeymead Company, the world’s largest soybean processing plant. In places the oil rose to three feet deep and a powerful surge washed two railroad cars into the Blue Earth River. No one had tackled an environmental disaster on this scale before with people trapped in their homes and the City of Mankato pushing oil into the Blue Earth River until being stopped by state officials the next day.

Scrambling to take care of the problem, the city mixed sand and snow with the oil to help solidify it more quickly. City crews and Honeywell staff worked around the clock in a futile attempt to clean up the mess. They scraped and plowed until the oil turned into lard and city workers flushed the oil and raw sewage directly into the Minnesota River to prevent it from clogging sewer pipes. Another clean-up effort involved hauling the glob to a dumpsite on the Le Sueur River, where the oil found its way into the Minnesota River.

Consequences of this oil spill and another one on Dec. 7, 1962 in Savage resulted in loss of over 10,000 ducks, 177 muskrats, 26 beaver and uncounted numbers of fish, turtles and songbirds.

Water science: Storm water
We live in a land of impervious (water cannot penetrate) surfaces, like parking lots, roads, buildings, compacted soil, etc. which means excessive water from rain events and snowmelt needs a place to go. Cities have built storm water systems to direct this water off the landscape, but unfortunately this water brings along pollutants like oil and grease, chemicals, nutrients, metals and bacteria. After a major storm event the flooding can also cause sewer overflows and contaminate drinking water sources with untreated and human waste, toxic materials and other pollutants. In most urban areas, storm water isn’t treated and sent directly into our rivers and lakes.

What you can do: Urban and suburban best management practices
To prevent pollutants from washing off our streets, parking lots, buildings and other impervious surfaces, there are a number of best management practices we can implement.
• Conserve open space where natural hydrological conditions can exist and recharge of aquifers is promoted.
• Construct and maintain sediment retention fences around construction sites.
• Construct water and runoff retention ponds.
• Control illegal dumping and littering.
• On-site small-scale treatment plants to separate oil and water.
• Street and parking lot cleanup and maintenance.
• Vegetation (native, non-crop) buffers of appropriate size along stream banks.

Natural resource: Blue Earth River
Rising out of northern Iowa, the west fork of the Blue Earth River flows north into Minnesota where it joins a larger stream called the East Fork. The Blue Earth comes by its name from the Dakota Indian word “Mahkato,” meaning “greenish blue earth.” Sisseton Dakota used it as a pigment found in a shaley layer of rock on the Blue Earth River three miles from its mouth.

As one of the largest major watersheds in the Minnesota River Basin, the Greater Blue Earth River drains 2.26 million acres and includes both the Le Sueur and Watonwan rivers. Here the land is considered one of the world’s best soils for producing crops like corn and soybeans.

Community event: Minnesota River Watershed Alliance quarterly meeting
Are you looking to be more involved in what is happening in the Minnesota River Watershed? Attend the next quarterly meeting of the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance on July 21 to find out what this action-orientated coalition is doing to protect and improve water quality in the Minnesota River.

The meeting goes from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Hutchinson Event Center located just off of State Highway 15 on the south side of town. The Watershed Alliance encourages landowners and recreational users to be part of this effort to improve and protect the Minnesota River Watershed. This meeting begins with a social hour to give participants time to interact with each other and share stories and concerns about what is happening in their part of the Minnesota River Watershed.

Everyone will have a chance to explore, learn and participate in an informal setting with people who are interested in the Minnesota River and its many tributaries. Come out to lend your voice, expertise and commitment for a viable and healthy watershed.

Organization profile: Friends of Minneopa
Dedicated to preserving, managing and promoting the resources of Minneopa State Park, this non-profit organization came together in 1998. A group of community activists led by Brandt Frentz saw the need to highlight what was going on at one of the oldest state parks in Minnesota including its history, birds, vegetation, animal life and much more.

Over the years the Friends of Minneopa have conducted an annual bird survey, helped purchase equipment for the park and removed invasive plants. They traditionally meet in January, April, July and October and are always looking for new members. Check out the book “Minneinneopa: 150 Year History – Minneopa State Park” by Gordon Herbst; it can be purchased at Minneopa State Park, the Blue Earth County Historical Society, or Barnett Photo.

Recreational opportunity: Paddling the Blue Earth River
High wooded bluffs, dramatic rock outcrops and a pair of tributary waterfalls dominate the Blue Earth River as leaves the Rapidan Dam on its journey to its confluence with the Minnesota River at Sibley Park in Mankato. The first eight miles of the river is well known for numerous Class I rapids, making for a fun and lively paddle.

Start your trip by visiting the Dam Store conveniently located near the put-in at the county park. They are known for their homemade pies. A new landing is going to be built on County Road 90 or paddle the 11 plus mile trip to Sibley Park. Water level readings can be found at the United States Geology Survey website. Check out the book “Paddling Southern Minnesota” by Lynne and Robert Diebel for more information on paddling the Blue Earth River.