Water Monitoring

The East Polk Soil and Water Conservation District monitors streams, lakes and rainfall in their half of the county.

East Polk SWCD participates in the MPCA Citizen  Stream Monitoring Program (CSMP). Stream monitoring is done on the  Sandhill River, Poplar River, Lost River, and the Clearwater River  during the summer months.

The CSMP measures transparency,  appearance, recreational suitability, precipitation and stream stage.  This information tells us: the amount of sediment, algae, & other  materials suspended in the water, potential causes of low transparency,  perceived suitability of a stream for fishing, swimming or boating, how  rainfall events affect stream transparency, appearance, and stage. 

Visit the CSMP website here > 

Lake elevations are checked monthly during the summer on the following lakes:

• Badger Lake
• Cable Lake
• Cameron Lake
• Cross Lake
• Hill River Lake
• Maple Lake
• Poplar Lake
• Lake Sarah
• Spring Lake
• Turtle Lake
• Union Lake
• Whitefish Lake
  

Data is available on the Internet at the DNR Lake Finder site: Go to the DNR Lake Finder Site >