View The 'Impaired Waters' In The St. Michael Area

ST. MICHAEL, MN — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recently released its proposed impaired-waters list for 2022, adding 305 additional water bodies.

The total list now includes 2,904 water bodies with 6,168 different impairments. Bacteria, sediment, nutrients, and poor conditions for fish are among the most common impairments in Minnesota waters, according to officials.

Here are the St. Michael-area waters listed:

• Regal Creek
• Pelican Lake
• Sylvan Lake
• Cowley Lake
• School Lake
• Foster Lake

"Minnesota's water is its most valuable resource and everyone expects our lakes and streams to be suitable for swimming and fishing," said Katrina Kessler, MPCA commissioner, in a news release.

"While Minnesota has made progress in cleaning up waters, too many of our lakes and streams are in still trouble, from high levels of phosphorus that grow algae to PFAS contamination in our waters in Greater Minnesota. We still have more work to do."

Just one water body in the St. Michael area has been taken off Minnesota's list of impaired waters in the last five years:

• Crow River (delisted in 2016)

Click here for an interactive map showing all of the polluted waters in Minnesota