Temperature Monitoring on the Kinni

Our sister chapter in Wisconsin, Kiap-TU-WIsh, has been monitoring water temperatures on the Kinnickinnic River since 1994.  Their data showed that the two dams in River Falls were warming the summer water temperature in the lower river by more than 4 degrees F.  These data were critical in building the case for removing the dams.  Kiap-TU-Wish just finished adding the data from 2021 to their series.  2021 was the first full summer showing the impact of drawing down the lower reservoir.  Approximately half of the thermal impact was mitigated; improving the summer environment for coldwater species in the lower river.  Part of the funds we are raising for the Kinnickinnic Restoration Effort will be used for continued monitoring of the river, which we expect to show the positive impact of the Powell Dam removal, and build the case for removal of the remaining (Junction Falls) dam.  If you want to nerd out, you can download the full report here.  Kiap_TU-Wish has a number of other reports on the Kinni that you can find in their Coldwater Science Library.