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FIGURE <br />WETLANDS, DRAINAGEWAYS AND FLOODPLAINS <br />These natural ponding areas ser\e an integral function within the natural ecological <br />system of Lake Minnetonka. The "Harza Study" includes quantitative data <br />identifying how the wetland soils easily retain phosphorus, and how marsh plants <br />take up and incorporate large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus into their <br />growing tissue. Thus, the marshlands are the primary pollution filters for Lake <br />Minnetonka's surface water runoff. <br />Since marshes and small lakes in the watershed aggregate nearly as much area as the <br />main body of Lake Minnetonka, their potential for supplying water to the subsurface <br />formations is appreciable. In addition, marshes provide a diversity in the kinds of <br />open space available within the region. They provide a habitat which is uniquely <br />suited for certain birds and mammals. They can be utilized to provide storage of <br />storm runoff with minimal disruption to their function as a habitat for wildlife and <br />their ability to reduce the phosphorus input to the lake. <br />The historic problem has been that burgeoning urbanization has adversely affected <br />the existence and the function of wetlands. The Harza Study showed that typical <br />suburban forms of urbanization will lead to the pollution of the watershed and Lake <br />Minnetonka because of the increased phosphorus load which would be in the surface <br />water runoff. <br />CMP 3A - 7 <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />• I <br />» « <br />» I { <br />t • <br />¥ *