This catalogue of key water information is hosted by Metropolitan Council.
Key water information catalogue
This catalogue provides easy access to key water information and data from six Minnesota state agencies. The page is not designed to be a comprehensive listing of Minnesota water information links, but a listing of main or key web pages of water information. Click on a link to find more water information about a subject below.
Surface water is water that collects on the surface of the ground. The information here covers streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, other bodies of water, and the watersheds that contain them. The type of water information that can be found includes water body locations, water quantity, planning, permits, fishing advisories, flow rates, wastewater treatment, water quality, restoration efforts, and other information.
Groundwater is the water located beneath the earth's surface. The type of water information that can be found includes drinking water quality, raw data about wells, quality, water pollution and restoration, and potential agricultural contamination.
Spatial and locational mapping data related to wetlands, streams, lakes, aquifers, wells, other bodies of water, and watersheds.
Programs that prevent sediment and nutrients from entering our lakes, rivers, and streams, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, and protect wetlands. Also found here are articles about water research related to Minnesota.
Searchable collection of scientific-technical articles by local, state, and federal governments as well as peer-reviewed articles covering all types of water relevant to Minnesota. Spatial data for spatial reserarch activities.
Surface water
Metropolitan Council Environmental Information Management SystemExpand for more information... Provider: Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES)
Interactive webpages that allow professionals, students, researchers, and citizens access to water quality-related data and information from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area rivers, streams, lakes, and wastewater treatment plants, as well as precipitation data from various locations.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Lakefinder is a web application targeted to the general public interested in information about a specific lake. Not all lakes have been surveyed.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
A joint effort between the USGS, National Weather Service, MPCA, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, this site provides access to river and stream gauge information across the state.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
An interactive map interface allowing citizen and professional users to access data and information on Minnesota’s watersheds, water monitoring, and management activities going on in them.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
Spreadsheets of waters designated as “impaired” under the Clean Water Act for violations of water quality standards.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
A tool to search for water quality information and data on lakes and streams in Minnesota.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
Information and links related to nitrate and pesticide monitorin in Minnesota's water resources.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
This site provides access to data and information generated by the statewide watershed pollutant load monitoring network. Enables comparisons among watersheds of pollutant levels of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment in the state’s rivers.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Comprehensive overview of the ecological health of Minnesota's watersheds. By applying a consistent statewide approach, the WHAF expands our understanding of processes and interactions that create healthy and unhealthy responses in Minnesota's watersheds. Health scores are used to provide a baseline for exploring patterns and relationships in emerging health trends.
Expand for more information... Provider: National Water Quality Monitoring Council, US Geological Survey (USGS), and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
A national data portal where a user can access water quality and quantity data from multiple databases.
Groundwater (includes drinking water)
Cooperative Groundwater Monitoring (DNR)Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
Hydrographs, well descriptions and water level data are available for each well in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Ground Water Level Observation Well Database.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
Information and links about drinking water quality. Also information about the standards and programs to protect drinking water.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Geological Survey and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
The County Well Index (CWI) is a database that contains information for over 481,000 water-wells drilled in Minnesota. The data is derived from water-well contractors' logs of geologic materials encountered during drilling. Confirmed locations and interpreted geologic well records are available for over 265,000 of the wells. Available data also include casing, screen, and pump information.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
County Well Index (CWI) Online is a web-based version of the CWI data system developed by the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for the storage, retrieval, and editing of water-well information.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
Text and mapped-based search tools for groundwater quality data.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
Information and links related to nitrate and pesticide monitoring in Minnesota's water resources.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
Allows a user to search geographically or site-based using text or a map for information on potential pollution sources in an area.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
Using a map view a user can find known and potential sources of agricultural chemical soil and groundwater contamination.
Geographic information
Minnesota Geospatial CommonsExpand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), MN Geospatial Information Office (MNGeo)
The Commons is primarily for geospatial data consumers: people who need data for a project, services for an application, or some other resource required for a GIS-based use. It is a robust data distribution site that can be used by both traditional and non-traditional GIS users, such as web developers, journalists and others.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
Source water protection datasets contain geospatial referenced information related to wellhead protection planning efforts in Minnesota. Examples include polygons of wellhead protection areas, drinking water supply management areas, and emergency response areas.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The data provided consists of over 10,000 watershed polygon delineations in one seamless dataset of drainage areas called Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Catchments. The DNR Catchment dataset extends into adjacent states where water flows into Minnesota and or where the DNR Catchment extends across the state boundary.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MNGeo)
This site provides contextual information about the Minnesota state LiDAR project with links to metadata and data download.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
An interactive, mobile enabled web mapping application that provides basic access to elevation data (point and linear) as well as providing download access to the raw elevation data. Provides search capabilities and is integrated with the location systems on mobile devices.
Expand for more information... Provider: US Department of the Interior
Gives a user the ability to see the upstream and downstream flow and contributions of water to a location on a map.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), MN Geospatial Information Office (MNGeo)
Watercourse delineations for all portions of the National Hydrography Dataset within the state of Minnesota.
Expand for more information... Provider: University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute
Online GIS application to help identify and prioritize where to restore and protect wetlands for water quality and habitat reasons based on environmental stress and benefit data. Full tool functionality not compatible in Internet Explorer; use of other browsers strongly recommended.
Water implementation programs (e.g. best management practices (BMPs))
Citizen centric links to best management practices (BMP) for wetlands, drainage, and other state waterExpand for more information... Provider: Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR)
BWSR’s agency website. Summarizes information about various state programs operated by BWSR.
Expand for more information... Provider: Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR)
Installed best management practices with estimated pollution reduction.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
Provides background on Minnesota Department of Agriculture clean water fund projects (CWF) and research related to BMPs, implementation and agricultural water quality results from edge of field monitoring.
Water information resources and tools
Water Research Digital LibraryExpand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
Minnesota Water Research Digital Library (MNWRL) is a growing, searchable inventory of current Minnesota-focused scientific-technical publication on all types of water research topics, including both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed literature.
Expand for more information... Provider: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
Summary information on water quality status and trends of Minnesota's lakes, rivers, wetlands and groundwater.
