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8 BIOLOGICAL REPoRT 19 Table 1. Principal investigators, affiliation, and study component responsibility in the Minnesota River Assessment Project. Principal investigator Affiliation Responsibility Wayne Anderson Tim Larson Greg Payne Joe Magner Mike Meyer Paul Wotzka Jack Arthur Chris Kavanaugh Pat Bailey Jack Enblom Steve Mercurio Beth Proctor Jack Arthur Carl Richards Jim Zisch.ke Henry Quade Mary Mueller Gary Wehrenberg Nick Pearson Kathy Svanda Ron Jacobson Lynne Kolze MPCA& MPCA USOSb MPCA MWCCC MDAd USEPAe MDNR' MPCA MDNR MS~ MSU EPA UM_NRRIh sod MSU MBSwW SWCDk SCSI MPCA MPCA MPCA Project manager Project coordinator Physical! chemical Hydrology Metropolitan studies Pesticides Biology /toxics Biology /toxics Fish community Fish community Fish physiology Sediment chemistry Sediment toxicity Algal communities Macroinvertebrates Land use Land use Land use Land use Data management Modeling Implementation &Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. bU.S. Geological Survey. e Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (Minneapolis, St. Paul). d Minnesota Department of Agriculture. e U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. gMankato State University. hUniversity of Minnesota-Natural Resources Research Institute. i St. Olaf College. j Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources. kU.S. Soil and Water Conservation District. I U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Physical and Chemical Monitoring Subcommittee Hydrology Flow mechanics in the basin are controlled by multiple forces. Precipitation, evaporation, surfi- cial aquifers, and deep aquifers playa part in the natural hydrology of the watershed. Settlement and subsequent development of the watershed have altered the hydrology. Average annual precipitation increases from west to east, while evaporation decreases. Conse- quently, runoff and recharge increase west to east. Before agricultural development, most precipita- tion in the basin was stored in wetlands and in the top 3 m of soil. Groundwater recharge took place as soil water moved vertically to the aquifer or laterally to lakes and wetlands and then perco- lated down to the aquifer. Manmade drainage systems now move the water off the uplands and rapidly deliver it to the river. Most of the wetlands have been drained, small streams channelized, and new streams (ditches) developed to move the water. Instream flow varies by several orders of mag- nitude among and within years, depending on precipitation. Between 1989 and 1990, flows at rkm 108 varied from less than 500 cfs to more than 4,100 cfs (Fig. 2). Base flow is due in large part to springs in the bed or on the banks of the river. These springs tend to have relatively stable flows.