Sunrise River Highway-61 Wetland Enhancement

The proposed project diverts flow from an existing ditch system in the Highway 35 drainage area, through a pre-treatment cell, and then diffuses the flow into the wetland complex located on the Tax Forfeit property owned by the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD). The proposed project will result in annual phosphorus reductions of 89 lb/yr to the Sunrise River and 65 lb/yr to Comfort Lake which ultimately drains to the St. Croix River through the Sunrise River (these estimates were updated from the original concept and are based on the final project design). The project will also provide increased wildlife habitat and add 18.3 acre-ft of flood storage to the area.

The project will be constructed on the CLFLWD-owned property and will not impact any of the properties along the drainage ditch or those adjacent to the project area.

The proposed project was identified for targeted implementation through the District’s 2012 Sunrise River Water Quality and Flowage Project Engineer’s Report, the District’s 2012-2021 Watershed Management Plan, and the 2010 CLFLWD Six Lakes Total Maximum Daily Load Study. View the Feasibility Study for more information on the project. This is one of the resulting projects from the 2010 Chisago County petition.