10/27/2010 Environmental Board Minutes

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ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 27, 2010 DRAFT MINUTES 3 Clearwater Creek: Listed as impaired for aquatic life, due to coliform bacteria and low dissolved oxygen. Results: Moderately stressed by incoming pollutants. Overall it appears moderately stable. Hardwood Creek: Listed as impaired biota (fish). Low dissolved oxygen. Results: FBI score corresponds to a “Poor” rating. Overall, hardwood appears to be stable. Mr. Averbeck handed out the 2009 Executive Summary on the Rice Creek Watershed Stream Health Evaluation Program (SHEP) to board members. Ms. Bor questioned if the new test site was lower than the original site. He stated yes. Ms. Bor questioned the vegetation change. He stated there has been a little bit of change. The long grass to the south of the stream has been grazed by horses. He stated they found a huge number of freshwater sponges, which are filter feeders. Possibly this is an indicator of water quality. The mats exist only for a single season. He has not seen them before this season. Ms. Bor stated the group’s accuracy is higher than 96% accuracy. Ms. O’Dea questioned if the group will monitor again next year. Mr. Averbeck stated as long as the grant comes in again, yes. The group looks at findings over a long period of time. It is not simply math stated Averbeck. It is more of looking at a trend of improvement over the years. 3. Rice Lake Stormwater Stenciling/Clean Water and Pollution Awareness Presentation; Eagle Scout Steven Pehoski Steven Pehoski was present. He is currently working on an Eagle Scout project that focuses on increasing awareness of the effects of stormwater runoff to our local lakes. He presented a PowerPoint presentation to the board. He is from local Troop 103 out of St. Joseph’s Parish. He stated there are several different aspects of this project. He and his group stenciled 165 storm drains in the Rice Lake Watershed District in the area of Sunset Avenue, Lake Drive Area and south of St. Joe’s Church on Elm Street. They also distributed fliers in the area on how to reduce the impact of storm water runoff. He is in the process of contacting a local newspaper to see if they will run an article to further increase awareness of stormwater runoff.