July 23, 2012

River levels in Southern Minnesota are lowest from Mankato eastward.  When levels get too low restrictions on industry and municipal wastewater go into effect. 

US Geological Survey Minnesota Chief Hydrologist James Fallon tells KTOE News that the Minnesota River at Mankato is still in what is considered the normal range, but just a few more dry days will see it drop into the 25th quartile, considered a low level threshhold.

And the Le Sueur and Blue Earth Rivers are nearing the 10th percentile, a very low level.

Fallon says the percentiles are based on river levels monitored over one-hundred years, which means only ten times over the past 100 years have the Le Sueur and Blue Earth Rivers been as low as they are today.

River levels are this low or even lower in parts of northwestern Minnesota.

USGS real-time river levels can be seen online at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mn/nwis/rt. 


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