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By Jim Sauter Greetings from TCTU Streamkeepers. I. INTRODUCTION Welcome to the dog days of summer. This is usually a time when the Dog Star, Sirius, begins to shine and we experience the sultry heat of summer. The good news is that most of our stream water is still in nice 50-60 degrees. We only had one reading where water temperatures were about 65 degrees, and that was Belle Creek on July 28th. The coolest stream came in at a nice water temperature of 53 degrees on July 21st at Trout Brook. Recently, when checking out a possible site for the Save Our Stream training on Eagle Creek, my eleven-year-old granddaughter, Hannah, and I decided to take a water clarity test. When we arrived at the stream, we visited with several representatives from the MN DNR, MNTU, and TCTU. They were in the "planning stage" for a future habitat project on the stream in 2025. Hannah and I took our nifty 100 cm secchi tube and filled it with water from the stream. After taking the tube out of the water, the tube felt very cool. There was immediate condensation on the tube on this hot 80 plus and high humidity day. The water felt like it just came out of the frig, and the water was very clear. We recorded a very clear water clarity reading more than 100 cm. Note: the water temperature on Eagle Creek taken on August 4th was a frosty 59 degrees with an air temperature of 80 degrees. In my discussion with Jenny Biederman, MNTU Habitat Director, I discovered that Eagle Creek is unusual in one respect. The creek does not experience much silt flushing after significant rainfalls. Developers in the area have done an excellent job of diverting runoff away from the stream. Instead, the water level from the Minnesota River rises and sits in the lower levels of the stream. The normal "flushing" phenomenon of silt does not happen as much as in many of our other area stream. Hopefully, some of the future habitat work may help with this issue by "pinching" the stream by speeding up and narrowing water flow on many of the bends. We decided that we will do the chemical and biological training at the 126th St bridge on Eagle Creek. Although we did not see any trout, I am sure there were some lurking under the banks on under boulders. I look forward to the days after habitat work is done on the creek to improve the quality and habitat of the stream for microorganisms and trout. II. STREAMKEEPER TIP OF THE MONTH- TIS THE SEASON FOR FISH KILLS Unfortunately, as we enter the hotter days of summer, this seems to be the time of year when we experience more fish kills. This can be caused by a variety of factors such as runoff from fields, high stream temperatures, and even toxic chemical releases in water. A recent case in point is the fish kill on August 2, 2024, in Tischer Creek near Duluth. The cause of the fish kill is still under investigation. See report at: https://www.fox21online.com/2024/08/02/fish-found-mysterious-dead-in-tischer-creek/ Sometimes these fish kills can be a real big deal and endanger fish life and threaten human health. For example, a large fish kill was recorded earlier this year in Iowa. In March, about 1,500 tons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer spilled into the East Nishnabotna River, leaving over 750,00 fish dead. That accounted for nearly all the fish in a 50-mile stretch of the river. The cause was a valve that was mistakenly left open at an area Coop. What can we do if we notice a fish kill on an area stream? If you notice 5 or more dead fish in one location, contact officials IMMEDIATELY! Below are the numbers that you can add to your contact list. Minnesota Fish Kill Number 1-800-422-0798 Wisconsin Fish Kill Number 1-800-847-9367 Iowa Fish Kill Number 1-515-725-8694 III. SAVE OUR STREAM TRAINING On Sunday, August 4, TCTU and MNTU teamed up with the Izaak Walton League and held our first Save Our Streams (i.e., SOS) field training session. We had 20 participants from a variety of backgrounds learn more about chemical and macroinvertebrate testing and conducted field testing on Eagle Creek. The program offered a hands-on experience in water quality monitoring and included biological, chemical, and physical stream assessments. The session focused on how to monitor area streams as part of the TCTU Streamkeeper monitoring program and included classroom and a streamside session. A special thank you to Jennifer Biederman and Kristen Poppleton from MNTU for helping lead the training program. We hope to offer some more of these training session in the future. If interested, keep a watchful eye for future notices from TCTU. Additional Save Our Stream Certification and training is also available online. Details on SOS Certification are here: https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/upcoming-water-monitoring-workshops/save-our-streams-certification IV. FEATURED STREAM OF THE MONTH- SOUTH BRANCH OF VERMILLION RIVER (Article credit to Streamkeeper Doug Moran, the MN DNR, and the Friends of the Mississippi) The South Branch of the Vermillion (SBV) is a gem. Here's why... It is one of the very few cold-water streams in the Twin Cities' metro area, and nearly certainly the only stream of its type in any United States major metropolitan area. It contains wild brown, heritage brook and stocked rainbow trout and many other cold-water species. Electrofishing last fall showed there are many large, elusive brown trout in this system. Management Plans from the MN DNR
According to the MN DNR, an individual brown trout exceeding 5 pounds has been reported from this stream. Rainbow Trout are stocked annually to provide additional angling opportunities. The MNDNR, TCTU, MNTU and other organizations have done extensive habitat work, removed untold numbers of buckthorn, wild parsnips, and other invasive species over the past decade & created an Aquatic Management Area that allows the nearly 3.7 million people in the Twin Cities access. In addition to the aquatic life, the habitat work has filled the AMA with all kinds of other wildlife- turkeys, deer, an amazing number of songbirds and a beautiful array of wild flowers. V. STREAM MONITORING READINGS FOR JULY 2024 HAY CREEK 320th St., Monitored by John Kohler, July 5, 2024 Predominate Weather: Intermittent Rain Water Clarity: Muddy Water Temperature: 16.2 degrees C, 61 degrees F Nitrate: 5 ppm, Good Nitrate: .1 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 120 ppm, Good Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 7.5, Good Phosphate: 100 ppb, Good  South Branch Vermillion River If you visit in early spring, look for native wildflowers like this bloodroot on the forest floor near the river. Photo by Friends of the Mississippi River SOUTH BRANCH VERMILLION, Monitored by Doug Moran, July 6, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Murky Water Temperature: Nitrate: 5 ppm, Good Nitrate: .1 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 1 ppm, Fair Hardness: 150 ppm, Good pH: 7.7, Good Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: Stream Disturbances: None EAGLE CREEK, Monitored by Todd Christenson, JULY 17, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Very Clear, Over 100 cm+ Water Temperature: 16.9 degrees C, 62 degrees F, Good Nitrate: 0 ppm, Good Nitrate: 0 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 210 ppm, Good Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 8.7, Fair Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: 62 ppm, Excellent MOA/ IKE"S CREEK, Monitored by Harold Slawik, July 18, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Clear Water Temperature: 14.9 degrees C, 59 degrees F Nitrate: 14.8 ppm, Good Nitrate: 1 ppm, Poor Alkalinity: 240 ppm, Good Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 8, Good Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: 304 ppm, High Notes: Water level appears to be normal. Thick vegetation covers the main channel above the testing site BELLE CREEK, Monitored by Dean Albrecht, July 17, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Murky Water Temperature: 19.0 degrees C, 64 degrees F Nitrate: 5 ppm, Good Nitrate: .1 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 1 ppm, Fair Hardness: 150 ppm, Good pH: 7.7, Good Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent TROUT BROOK, Monitored by Andy McRae, July 21, 2024 Predominate Weather: Intermittent Rain Water Clarity: Clear Water Temperature: 11.9 degrees C, 53 degrees F, Excellent Nitrate: 2 ppm, Good Nitrate: .05 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 80 ppm, Good Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 7.5, Good Phosphate: 50 ppb, Excellent Notes: Intermittent heavy rain and thunderstorms. Site is heavily silted since floodwaters backed up from the cannon. The submerged rock strata is heavily silted. The Brook has returned to slightly above baseflow level. Much fewer fish than normal noted EAGLE CREEK, Monitored by Todd Christenson, JULY 25, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Very Clear, Over 100 cm+ Water Temperature: 14.8 degrees C, 58 degrees F, Good Nitrate: 0 ppm, Good Nitrate: 0 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 180 ppm, Good Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 7.5, Good Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: 66 ppm, Excellent BELLE CREEK, Monitored by Andy Joyce, July 28, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Clear Water Temperature: 19.8 degrees C, 67 degrees F Nitrate: 5 ppm, Good Nitrate: 0 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 240 ppm, Good Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 8.5, Good Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: 25 mg/l Notes: My first stream reading!!! HAY CREEK 325th St., Monitored by Mike Stinson, August 2, 2024
See photos above, captured by Mike Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Murky Water Temperature: 14.5 degrees C, 58 degrees F Nitrate: 2 ppm, Good Nitrate: 3 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 0 ppm, Fair Hardness: 180 ppm, Good pH: 9.0, Poor Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: Notes: Water four feet above stream level EAGLE CREEK 126TH ST, Monitored by SOS Training Team on August 4, 2024 Predominate Weather: Sunny Water Clarity: Very Clear, Over 100 cm+ Water Temperature: 15.2 degrees C, 59 degrees F, Good Nitrate: 0-1 ppm, Good Nitrate: 0 ppm, Good Alkalinity: 240 ppm, Good Hardness: 210 ppm, Good pH: 7.5, Good Phosphate: 0 ppb, Excellent Chloride: 66 ppm, Excellent Oxygen: 9 mg/l, 85% saturation, Excellent Biological Water Quality Rating: Poor to Fair
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