Biological Monitoring
Rum River North
| Monitoring Location | at Hwy 24, Rum River North County Park, St. Francis |
| Monitored By | St. Francis High School Crossroads School |
| Number of Years Monitored | 3.5 yrs |
| Background: The Rum River originates from Lake Mille Lacs, and flows south through western Anoka County where it joins the Mississippi River in the City of Anoka. Other than the Mississippi, this is the largest river in the county. In Anoka County the river has both rocky ripples as well as pools and runs with sandy bottoms. The river's condition is generally regarded as excellent. Portions of the Rum in Anoka County have a state "scenic and recreational" designation. The sampling site is in Rum River North County Park. This site is typical of the Rum in northern Anoka County, having a very rocky bottom with numerous pool and ripple areas. St. Francis High School samples at the south end of the park at the canoe landing, while Crossroads School samples at the north end of the park. |
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| Results St. Francis High School classes monitored this the Rum River in both spring and fall 2006, facilitated by the Anoka Conservation District. Biological data for 2006, and historically, indicate the Rum River in northern Anoka County has the best conditions of all streams and rivers monitored throughout Anoka County. Biological indices were above the county averages. One exception is that the Family Biotic Index (FBI) in fall 2006 was much lower than previously observed and much lower than the average for Anoka County. This poor FBI was primarily driven by a high abundance of a few pollution-tolerant families. Specifically, the family corixidae (water boatmen), which have a high pollution tolerance ranking, comprised two-thirds of all captures. Given the high diversity of families, including many sensitive families, the poor FBI ranking can be ignored. |
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| Discussion Both chemical and biological monitoring indicate the exceptional quality of this river. Habitat is ideal for a variety of stream life, and includes a variety of substrates, plenty of woody snags, riffles, and pools. Habitat deteriorates somewhat downstream near Anoka where the river is slower and the bottom is heavily sediment laden. Water chemistry monitoring done at various locations on the Rum River throughout Anoka County found that water quality also declines in the downstream reaches, though was still good. One cause of downstream deterioration is probably higher-density development and more intense land use. Overall, the condition of the river is regarded as very good throughout Anoka County. Water resource management should be focused upon protecting the Rum’s quality. |
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