Upper Mississippi River Basin Monitoring and Assessment Work

• Watershed Surface Water Data Viewer
• 2006 Water Quality Report to Congress Spotlight: Mississippi River

Federal Sponsored Programs and Interstate Activities

Water quality is a key to the overall health of the web of life in the Mississippi River. Although pollution from cities and towns has been drastically reduced and certain toxic chemicals have been banned from use, water quality issues still remain. Human activities along the Mississippi River and in its watershed continue to impact the balance of many nutrients and water quality characteristics. Sediment is filling in the main pools and backwaters, and toxic chemicals continue to be introduced into our environment. These chemicals can eventually appear in the water or the sediment of the river and some accumulate in the food chain.

Upper Mississippi River Water Quality-FAQ

Mississippi River Water Quality Specialist collecting continuous water quality and wind measurements from a water quality platform located in Pool 5 of the Mississippi River. Wisconsin conducts water quality monitoring to assess the health of the Mississippi River, determine long term trends, evaluate environmental problems, and to provide water resource information to support management activities, through a combination of both state funded programs and federal sponsored programs.

 Reports and Links

• UMRCC Water Quality Assessment Technical Section Report
• LTRMP Water Quality Assessment
• USGS Contaminants in the Mississippi River
• Wisconsin DNR Water Quality Monitoring Strategic Plan - Mississippi River p.51

 Federal Sponsored Programs and Interstate Activities

Wisconsin conducts water quality monitoring on the Mississippi River with state-funded programs and federal funding as part of the U.S. Corps of Engineers Environmental Management Program (EMP) Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) and U.S. EPA’s Great Rivers Ecosystems Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP-GRE). Monitoring conducted with federal support is primarily conducted by the Department’s field station at Onalaska, Wisconsin.

Long Term Resource Monitoring

The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) is a component of the Environmental Management Program which is a Federal/State partnership designed to monitor the river’s health as well as restore habitat along the 1200 miles of the commercially navigable portion of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and lower sections of several major tributaries. The LTRMP is a leader in development and implementation of large river monitoring.

The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program is led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin . State-employed p ersonnel at six field stations collect data on water quality, vegetation, and fish. Monitoring results are used to better understand the system, forecast future conditions and provide early warning of potential problems. Additional information on the Mississippi River system is provided by researchers that delve into specific questions about the river’s ecology. Together, research and monitoring document habitat changes over time and aid in the development and evaluation of management alternatives including the success of the habitat projects.

For more information click on Long Term Resource Monitoring Program. Please note you will leave the DNR website.

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program for Great Rivers (EMAP-GRE)

The Department’s Onalaska Field station is participating in a research program by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the ecological condition of the “Great Rivers” in the Midwest including the Upper Mississippi River system, Ohio River, Missouri River from Montana to Missouri, and Mississippi River from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois. Scientists will use this information to develop assessment tools for evaluating the health of these rivers. Future assessments will show whether conditions are getting better or worse.

To learn more about this monitoring program, called Great Rivers Ecosystems Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Project (EMAP) go to EPA- Monitoring and Assessment Program.