Water Resources of Minnesota
Welcome to the USGS Minnesota Water Science Center. These pages are your source for water-resource information collected and interpreted by the U.S. Geological Survey in Minnesota.

Minnesota Water Science Center activities include:
- Presentation of real-time streamflow, water-quality, ground-water levels data.
- Operation and oversight of an extensive network of water-resource monitoring sites.
- Archive of water-resource information collected for more than 100 years.
- Data collection and investigative studies related to issues of concern to water-management entities and citizens.
- Publishing data and topical reports.
Quick Link to Real-Time Data:
View site list: SW | GW | WQ
MinnesotaMonitoring Networks
The USGS Minnesota Water Science Center continuously monitors surface water, ground water, and water quality parameters across the state. Monitoring sites are operated in cooperation with various local, State, or Federal agencies.
Minnesota provides real-time water-stage, streamflow and precipitation data at 149 sites across the state.
33 ground-water wells are monitored by the USGS in Minnesota. These wells record data on hourly intervals.
Water-quality conditions are continuously monitored by the USGS at 11 sites across the state of Minnesota
View the Google Map developed by the NWIS team that displays all Minnesota Surface-Water sites, Groundwater sites, and more.
Featured Publication
Regional Nutrient Trends in Streams and Rivers of the United States, 1993-2003: by Lori A. Sprague, David K. Mueller, Gregory E. Schwarz, and David L. Lorenz .
Trends in flow-adjusted concentrations (indicators of anthropogenic changes) and observed concentrations (indicators of natural and anthropogenic changes) of total phosphorus and total nitrogen from 1993 to 2003 were evaluated in the eastern, central, and western United States by adapting the Regional Kendall trend test to account for seasonality and spatial correlation. The only significant regional trend was an increase in flow-adjusted concentrations of total phosphorus in the central United States, which corresponded to increases in phosphorus inputs from fertilizer in the region, particularly west of the Mississippi River. A similar upward regional trend in observed total phosphorus concentrations in the central United States was not found, likely because precipitation and runoff decreased during drought conditions in the region, offsetting the increased source loading on the land surface. A greater number of regional trends would have been significant if spatial correlation had been disregarded, indicating the importance of spatial correlation modifications in regional trend assessments when sites are not spatially independent.
Data via GoogleMaps
New Maps Deliver Current Streamflow Conditions
We added a Google-Map based Web page to deliver map-based current surface-water resources conditions in Minnesota.
The maps utilize zoom and pan to allow you to focus in on the water-monitoring sites that interest you. The maps show current streamflow as compared to historical records. By hovering your mouse over a site, a popup box shows the most recent stage and streamflow.
Current Issues
New Publication: Wastewater Indicator Compounds in Wastewater Effluent, Surface Water, and Bed Sediment in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and Implications for Water Resources and Aquatic Biota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2007-08
The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service cooperated on a study to determine the occurrence of wastewater indicator compounds including nutrients; organic wastewater compounds (OWCs), such as compounds used in plastic components, surfactant metabolites, antimicrobials, fragrances, and fire retardants; and pharmaceuticals in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Samples of treated wastewater effluent from two wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs), located in St. Croix Falls, Wisc. (SCF-WWTP) and Taylors Falls, Minn. (TF-WWTP), were collected from 2007 to 2008. During this time, surface-water and bed-sediment samples from the St. Croix River below Sunrise River near Sunrise, Minn., upstream from the two WWTPs (Sunrise site), and from the St. Croix River above Rock Island near Franconia, Minn., downstream from the WWTPs (Franconia site), also were collected. The Franconia site was selected because of the two large WWTP discharge points and the presence of mussel beds in this area of the St. Croix River.
Full Report
New Publication Available: Trends in Suspended-Sediment Loads and Concentrations in the Mississippi River Basin, 1950-2009
Trends in loads and concentrations of suspended sediment and suspended sand generally were downward for stations within the Mississippi River Basin during the 60-, 34-, and 12-year periods analyzed. Sediment transport in the lower Mississippi River has historically been, and continues to be, most closely correlative to sediment contributions from the Missouri River, which generally carried the largest annual suspended-sediment load of the major Mississippi River subbasins. The closure of Fort Randall Dam in the upper Missouri River in 1952 was the single largest event in the recorded historical decline of suspended-sediment loads in the Mississippi River Basin. Impoundments on tributaries and sediment reductions as a result of implementation of agricultural conservation practices throughout the basin likely account for much of the remaining Mississippi River sediment transport decline. Scour of the main-stem channel downstream from the upper Missouri River impoundments is likely the largest source of suspended sand in the lower Missouri River. The Ohio River was second to the Missouri River in terms of sediment contributions, followed by the upper Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers. Declines in sediment loads and concentrations continued through the most recent analysis period (1998-2009) at available Mississippi River Basin stations. Analyses of flow-adjusted concentrations of suspended sediment indicate the recent downward temporal changes generally can be explained by corresponding decreases in streamflows.
Full Report
Fall 2011 Newsletter
The Minnesota Water Science Center Fall 2011 Newsletter announces upcoming National Research Program Lectures for the MNWSC, spotlights Dave Lorenz' contribution to the USGS, summarizes newly published reports, and highlights some upcoming new research.
New Report Released - SIR 2011-5096
We are pleased to announce a report that documents water- and sediment-quality data collected during 2008-09 to assess internal and external nutrient loading to Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park. Data collection was focused in Kabetogama Lake and its inflows, the area of greatest concern for eutrophication among the lakes of Voyageurs National Park. Nutrient and algal data were used to determine trophic status and were evaluated in relation to changes in Kabetogama Lake water levels following changes to dam operation starting in 2000. Stratification, combined with larger bottom-water nutrient concentrations, bottom sediment phosphorus concentrations, and estimated phosphorus release rates from sediment cores indicate that Lost Bay may be one of several areas that may be contributing substantially to internal loading. Comparisons of the results of this study to previous studies indicate that chlorophyll-a concentrations and trophic state indices have improved since 2000, when the rules governing dam operation changed.
Full Report
New USGS Study Finds Increasing Nitrate in Upper Mississippi River
At the Mississippi River at Clinton, Iowa, which receives drainage largely from Minnesota, annual flow-normalized nitrate concentrations increased 76% from 1980-2008.
Full Results | Star Tribune News Story
USGS WaterAlert Service Now Live
Now you can receive instant, customized updates about water conditions by subscribing to WaterAlert, a new service from the U.S. Geological Survey. Whether you are watching for floods, interested in recreational activities or concerned about the quality of water in your well, WaterAlert allows you to receive daily or hourly updates about current conditions in rivers, lakes and groundwater when they match conditions of concern to you.
Learn more on the Press Release page.
More Current Issues
|