Receive Presentation on Mississippi River Shoreline Inventory

As the EPB will recall, in December of 2015, the City Council authorized a contract with the Anoka Conservation District (ACD) to conduct a shoreline inventory along the Mississippi River.  The inventory would essentially be an extension of a previous inventory the ACD completed of the pool above the Coon Rapids Dam.  The ACD completed the inventory in mid-December, 2015, under ideal conditions as the water level was low, vegetation was dormant (provided better visuals of the bank), and snow had not yet accumulated.  A member of the ACD will be in attendance to present an overview of the inventory and results.

The inventory covered just under six (6) miles of riverbank and found ten (10) locations with either severe or very severe erosion. Site Profiles for each of these areas were created that identifies the erosion length, estimated soil loss (tons per year), and potential solutions.  Note that many of the potential solutions include a combination of hard armarment (rip-rap) and bioengineering (use of native, deep rooted vegetation, cedar revetments and/or live staking).  The identified potential solutions are only preliminary and require further analysis and design prior to being implemented.  The report also includes an atlas of over 1,000 images of the riverbank that illustrate the bank conditions for the entire stretch of river through Ramsey.

One of the most informing outcomes of the inventory is the estimated amount of sediment loading to the river due to active erosion.  It was estimated that if the ten (10) most severe sites or active erosion (rated as severe or very severe) were stabilized, it would reduce the amount of sediment entering the river by 5,148 tons per year. 

The ten (10) most severe sites are a combination of both publicly owned (Anoka County) and privately owned lands.  The City can utilize this data to prioritize sites and to attempt to connect with the property owners to begin exploring solutions.  With this baseline data, it may help leverage grant dollars for stabilization projects with willing and committed property owners.
 

The inventory was a cost-share endeavor between the City and Anoka County Parks.  This case is being handled as part of Staff's regular duties.

Motion to recommend that the City Council accept the Mississippi River Bank Condition Inventory prepared by the Anoka Conservation District.