Good News For Water Recreation Lovers In The Duluth Area

Great news for people living in the Twin Ports or visitors to the area who enjoy spending time on the water!

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced this week that they have recommended lifting the body contact restrictions they previously had in place at Munger Landing and for Spirit Lake in the St. Louis River estuary near Duluth.

Up until this point, signs in the area had been up, warning people to avoid contact with the water due to contamination. This contamination, referred to as "legacy contamination", presented what the MPCA called "impairments" that impacted both the environment and presented human health risks.

Recent investigations by the MPCA following cleanup efforts determined that sediment remediation goals had been reached that would once again allow for safe contact for humans.

The MPCA is reminding the public that while the Munger Landing site and Spirit Lake are now once again safe for the public to use, they are still asking to limit activity for a little while yet.

This isn't due to contamination concerns, but rather to allow aquatic organisms and plants to re-establish in these areas and grow.

READ MORE: Why are there spiked all over this island on the St. Louis River in Duluth?

This establishment of aquatic organisms and plants in the area will help further repair the spaces where these restoration efforts had previously been underway.

Some additions that came along with the restoration efforts include more than two miles of walking trails at Spirit Lake as well as new boat, canoe, and kayak launches at Munger Landing.

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The combination of lifting the body contact restrictions and these other new additions will allow for more water-oriented recreation opportunities in that area of the St. Louis River.