Water Planning

Water Planning is transitioning from county-based plans to watershed-based plans. The Rainy Headwaters-Vermilion Watershed Plan was approved by the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR) in April 2024.

The St. Louis River Watershed Plan was approved in 2023. There is a plan summary, the complete plan and appendices that prioritize, target and measure the goals for a 10-year period.

The Rainy River-Rainy Lake and Upper Mississippi-Grand Rapids watershed plans are nearly complete. Approval by BWSR is expected to be requested in early 2025.

The Little Fork River watershed will be the final plan covering the North St. Louis SWCD. Planning begins in January 2025.

The county Comprehensive Local Water Management Plan (see link below the video) covers the area until all five watershed plans are approved.

What Is Water Planning?

Water planning is the process of prioritizing water resource concerns and identifying strategies to meet goals especially at the local level. Planning is shaped by data collected by state and local agencies, state plans and strategies, and local citizen input.

A severe drought in the late 1970’s revealed a strong need for a better way to manage Minnesota’s water supplies. So, in 1985, the State of Minnesota adopted the Comprehensive Local Water Management Act, which allows counties to develop and implement comprehensive water management plans or “County Water Plans”. The plans emphasize local ownership and implementation.

Since 2016 water planning has been shifting to a watershed scale instead of on a County level scale. A watershed is an area of land where the water all drains to the same place. Watershed boundaries often do not follow the human drawn lines that define our counties, cities, and townships. St. Louis County contains 8 major watersheds within it’s boundaries all included in one plan. Seven of these watersheds are shared with other Counties or Provinces. As a group, we have opted to combine the Cloquet and St. Louis River watersheds plus the Vermilion and Rainy River – Headwaters watersheds into two plans.

The plan will provide guidance on how the many different entities in the watershed can work together to protect and restore our shared and connected water resources.

St. Louis County Comprehensive Water Management Plan (2010-2020)