St. Cloud State University video uploaded to Giphy.com
Related links
One year after St. Cloud State University and Stearns County completed its Q-Lot Pollution Reduction project to help minimize sedimentation to the Mississippi River, the project is showing results.
“The storm water pond is full, the soil and native flowers and plants in the bioretention basin are breaking down pollutants and cleaner water is entering the Mississippi River,” said Joe Teff, facilities management safety administrator.
The project has benefitted the area by reducing flooding, removing pollutants, controlling runoff volume and flows, recharging the groundwater and providing wildlife habitat, Teff added.
The 20-year agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is funded by a $196,000 grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources through the Clean Water Fund for St. Cloud State to continue the work with Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Native plants around the bioretention pond.
The project allows sediments and common pollutants including oil, fertilizer, pesticides, animal waste, automobile fluids and litter to be captured and filtered prior to reaching the river for at least 15 years.
It also provides ecosystem services that make the water safer for recreational opportunities, carbon sequestration, heavy metal removal and an improved habitat for aquatic species.
Future sustainability projects, if approved, include a Talahi Woods Restoration project across the river from St. Cloud State to eradicate buck thorn and restore an oak savanna, a plant community where oak trees are a component, but also allows for grass and other native plants.
