Biological Monitoring
Springbrook
| Monitoring Location | at Springbrook Apartments (Site 3), east side of Springbrook Nature Center, Fridley |
| Monitored By | K. Ahlers and ACD Staff |
| Number of Years Monitored | .5 yrs |
| Background: Springbrook drains portions of northern Fridley and the City of Spring Lake Park. Most of the water moves through curb and gutter systems to a series of stormwater ponds just east of the monitoring site. The segment of stream monitored was from the outlet of a stormwater pond about 150 m toward the Springbrook Nature Center impoundment. The uplands around the stream at this location is forest and wetland. The stream and surrounding habitat are highly degraded, both in terms of water quality and habitat. The City of Fridley is currently working through a US EPA Clean Water Partnership grant to address stormwater hydrology, water quality, and stream erosion. | |
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| Results: The biotic community in this stream is degraded. Overall, invertebrates were in low abundance, and extensive sampling was required to capture an adequate number. While it may appear that the number of families was good, in fact only conegrionidae, clams, and snails had more than five individuals in our sample. Only one EPT family was found, consisting of a single individual of hydropyschidae (a pollution-tolerant family). The supplemental water chemistry measurements taken during biomonitoring were extreme. Conductivity and salinity were the highest recorded by the Anoka Conservation District anywhere in the county. |
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| Discussion: The biota in this stream is seriously impaired. Restoration to any degree will likely need to involve better management of water quality and extreme hydrologic fluctuations. The stream water chemistry has significant potential to damage the biotic community. From only the one reading it is clear that chemical pollution, perhaps from runoff throughout the urbanized watershed, is high. It likely reaches even higher levels during storm events than we observed. |
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