Clean Water Legacy Program

Mission: To meet current needs while ensuring a future in which Minnesota's waterways and watersheds remain an abundant source of clean water, provide enjoyable recreation, and support healthy aquatic ecosystems.

Clean Water Legacy Program

A water scene from a clean Minnesota river

Dave Wright
500 Lafayette Road
St Paul, MN 55155
(651) 259-5155

Monitoring Grants Now Available

The goal of the Clean Water Legacy Program is to insure that all of Minnesota's lakes, streams, and wetlands have water quality conditions that are acceptable for the various ways in which we use these waters.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has the lead responsibility for implementing Clean Water Legacy efforts but other state agencies, local units of government, private organizations, businesses, and Minnesota citizens also have important roles to play. The success of Clean Water Legacy efforts will depend on strong partnerships and local involvement.

This program is based on a simple five-step approach:

  1. assess the status of Minnesota's lakes, streams, and wetlands;
  2. determine where water quality is not sufficient for how we want the waters to be to used (i.e., identify those waters that are "impaired");
  3. develop plans, called Total Maximum Daily Load studies, that describe steps needed to restore "impaired" waters and allow a full range of uses;
  4. implement actions to restore impaired waters and protect those waters that are not impaired; and
  5. monitor the status of Minnesota's waters to assess progress and focus future actions.

Assessment, Restoration and Protection Process

The assessment, restoration and protection process is depicted in the graphic below:

Flow chart showing process for protection of clean waters and restoration of impaired waters

The DNR has a major role to play in most of the steps in this process. Our staff collects information on Minnesota's lakes, streams, and wetlands, and on the organisms that inhabit those waterbodies. DNR staff has expertise on the relationships between clean water and healthy fish, wildlife, and native plant communities, and brings that expertise to the Clean Water Legacy planning process.

Working Together

The 2006 Legislature passed the Clean Water Legacy Act, which is a policy framework that describes how Minnesota will restore its impaired waters and protect high quality water resources. The Act stresses the need for public participation to ensure that implementation plans contain pollution reduction strategies that consider local needs. DNR staff has connections with many local partners and these partnerships aid Clean Water Legacy efforts. Another key component of the Act is the need for state and local entities to cooperate and coordinate their water planning efforts. At the DNR, Clean Water Legacy Program staff delivers, or coordinates the delivery of, monitoring data, biological survey data, and staff expertise to support the goals of the Clean Water Legacy Act.