Stearns County

Stearns County is located in central Minnesota, covering 1,394 square miles. More than 500 lakes and protected wetlands make up about 4% of the landcover in the county. Of these, 294 lakes are over ten acres in size.

Stearns County officially adopted a Comprehensive Local Water Plan in 1991 to assess water resource in Stearns County, identify needs associated with those resources, and develop strategies to address those needs. Due to rapid growth and development in the county, the Comprehensive Local Water Plan was updated in 1996 and more recently in 2002 by the Stearns County Comprehensive Local Water Plan Advisory Committee.

One of the goals of the Comprehensive Local Water Plan is to track the quality of the County's water resources. The County, in collaboration with the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation Distirct have monitored water quality in lakes in Stearns County since 1999 and Stearns County Lakeshed Project.

For water sampling results, select a lake from the list on the right.

Resources:

Sauk River Watershed Management District

Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District

Stearns County Government