Red River Water Quality - Did you know?

The local water treatment plants ensure high quality water for the community.

Why does the Red River look muddy? Learn more by going to the Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids, and Transparency fact sheets.

Is the water in the Red River the same all year round? Go to How's the water to find out.

Minnesota and North Dakota each have their own Water Quality Standards that apply to the Red River. Click here to learn more.

Fargo and Moorhead are working to improve the water quality of the Red River to better support recreational use and the health of the natural habitat. Click here to learn more about the issues and the actions being taken under TMDL (total maximum daily load) activities.

Proper use of fertilizer helps maintain a healthy river.

Fish call the Red River home all year 'round, but they would probably leave for part of the year if they could. Would the fish leave for the winter or would they vacation in the summer? Go to the Dissolved Oxygen and Ammonia fact sheets to find out.

Everyday, over 14 million gallons of water are pulled from the Red River and treated for the municipal water system in the Fargo-Moorhead area. How different is the water we drink from the water in the river? Go to the Turbidity and Hardness fact sheets to learn more. Click on the links to learn more about water treatment practices in Fargo and Moorhead.

How does over fertilizing your lawn or improper use of fertilizer on the farm impact the river? Check out the Ammonia, Nitrate-nitrite, and Phosphorus fact sheets to learn more.

Storm water runoff goes directly to the Red River without treatment.

"Hard" water doesn't work well with detergents and leaves mineral deposits in plumbing. Is the Red River water "hard"? Is the municipal drinking water "hard"? Go to the Total Dissolved Solids and Hardness fact sheets to learn more.

On average, over 17 million gallons of wastewater goes through the Fargo-Moorhead area wastewater treatment plants everyday. After treatment, this wastewater is returned to the Red River. Go to the Organic Matter and Fecal Bacteria fact sheets to learn more. Learn more about wastewater treatment practices in Fargo and Moorhead.

Aquatic life is very sensitive to pollution. Minnesota and North Dakota are collecting macroinvertibrates (like snails and insect larvae) to develop biological criteria for the Red River's Water Quality Standards. You can help! Click here to learn more.

Rain and snowmelt are carried to the river through the storm sewer system. Click here to learn more about storm water in Fargo and Moorhead.

Canoeing is one of several recreational opportunities on the Red

Rainwater is slightly acidic. The soils in our region are alkaline. Fish do best under conditions that aren't too acidic or too alkaline. Do fish like the pH (measure of acidity/alkalinity) of the Red River? Go to the Alkalinity and pH fact sheets to find out.

Community volunteers and students take a couple of hours twice a month to sample the Red River as part of the FM River team. You can help! Click here to learn more.

Some say the Red River got its name from the color of its waters during ice-free conditions (April through November). Check out the Total Suspended Solids, Transparency and Turbidity fact sheets to see if "Red" is the right name for the river during the winter months.

The Red River offers many opportunities for recreation. Can you name them all? Click here for some ideas.