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Nineteen years ago, Michael McKay purchased a house in Wacouta Township, a few miles south of Red Wing, along the northwestern shore of Lake Pepin. A Minneapolis native, McKay had come to the area for work, but it wasn’t long before the city guy fell under the big lake’s spell. A few years ago, however, McKay and his neighbors along Wacouta Bay began to notice signs that the “organism” was ailing. Some parts of Pepin seemed to be growing shallower, McKay says. It became difficult to cross the lake to favorite haunts on the Wisconsin side, even in a low-draft fishing boat or water scooter. A few river towns gave up dredging, making it difficult for locals to reach navigable parts of the lake. Near the Mississippi inlet, McKay noticed, unfamiliar sand bars had emerged. Riparian vegetation had begun to spread, and new islands and peninsulas were forming. Examining aerial photographs, he noticed how the land mass around Wacouta Bay had expanded over the decades. “You can see what’s happening,” McKay says flatly. “The lake is filling up.” Mckay does not self-identify as an environmentalist. He has no background in water issues or conservation, and his current job, as general manager at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing, keeps him plenty busy. But last year, McKay and some of his neighbors from Wacouta Bay joined other Lake Pepin lovers from Minnesota and Wisconsin to form the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, a nonprofit citizens group urging stricter controls on erosion, the cause of the crisis. McKay was worried enough about the changes in Pepin that he decided not only to sign on with the group, but to serve as its executive director.

Problem

Lake Pepin is a natural lake on the Mississippi River. Lake Pepin is at the downstream endpoint of the most polluted reach of the Mississippi River in the state. An annual average load of about 1 million metric tons of TSS burdens the south metro Mississippi river through Lake Pepin. This is equivalent to a dump truck emptying a 12-cubic-yard load into the lake every eight minutes, every hour, every day of the year, says Norman Senjem, the Mississippi River Basin coordinator for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Or, if you prefer, picture a square city block, and then conjure a pile the height of the 32-story Foshay Tower. Within 340 years, all of Pepin will be transformed into a muddy channel. Much of the life will be choked from the lake, experts say, because sunlight won’t penetrate the murky waters. Lacking healthy aquatic vegetation, what’s left of the lake will be largely bereft of fish, waterfowl, and, perhaps, even those iconic eagles. And without those treasures, tourism in the area could plunge. "Like a stuck accelerator pedal, we’ve speeded up the delivery of sediment to Lake Pepin so that it will fill up in a mere 300 or so years, instead of the 3,600 years that natural processes would have required".

Innovation / New Solution

The Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance is a multi-state non-profit organization established in 2009 by an ad hoc committee determined to preserve and restore Lake Pepin as an integral part of the Upper Mississippi River System.

Impact

They have increased public awareness of water quality goals and best land management practices in order to influence the Lake Pepin TMDL to include performance standards for drainage management and design, plus farmland best management practices.

Expert Comments

• The LPLA has demonstrated its ability to be effective in influencing public opinion and policymakers in only two years of existence. It is a citizen-led initiative, but has quickly tied into agency (MPCA, DNR) efforts, has become knowledgeable on the science behind issues putting Lake Pepin at risk (which result from actions taken around the state, largely in the Minnesota River basin). In LPLA's words, they take a professional approach to public participation, they are serious about their efforts, and have already become important players in state-wide discussions of clean water.
  
  
• They have been vocal in getting support for conservation work to help protect Lake Pepin from degradation in the long term. They have elevated the conversation on this issue locally and statewide.
  
  
• This grassroots citizen group out of Red Wing brings a unique coalition of business people to the table and brings a needed sense of out state balance to the environmental movement. They need help move towards a more open and democratic processes, but they have had a tremendous impact in raising awareness about water quality and agricultural issues affecting our state's waters
  
  

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