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4.0 2012 FIELD SAMPLING RESULTS 4.1 Hardwood Creek Sites 4.1.1 Existing Conditions Hardwood Creek drains an area of 24 square miles in the cities of Hugo, Forest Lake, and Lino Lakes. Its headwaters drain from Rice Lake through Hardwood Creek before emptying into Lake Peltier at the head of the Chain of Lakes, which is located in the cities of Lino Lakes and Centerville. In the summer of 2006, as part of a grant from the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR), three locations along Hardwood Creek that were identified as having severe bank erosion were stabilized and in- stream habitat improvement techniques were utilized. Hardwood Creek is listed as impaired for biota (fish) on the lower portion of the creek (downstream of Highway 61), and low dissolved oxygen (DO) for the full length of the creek. The natural background level of DO is used as the water quality endpoint above Highway 61 due to naturally low oxygen levels occurring in that wetland- dominated part of the watershed. A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study began in 2004 and addresses the impairments on Hardwood Creek. The TMDL is a collaborative effort between the MPCA and Rice Creek Watershed District. The TMDL was approved by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in 2009. 4.1.2 Site Maps Below (page 14) are maps of each of the 2012 Hardwood sampling locations. The pins on each site map correspond to the midpoint of the sampled stream reach. Each stream reach sampled is referred to as the `sampling site' for the purposes of this report. The Hardwood Creek `Above' site was first included in the SHEP sampling protocol in 2007. The `Below' site was added to the SHEP monitoring protocol for the 2010 season. • •