Mississippi River on ‘Impaired Waters’ list;
fish consumption cautioned

By Tim Spitzack | Editor | September 2026

While the Mississippi River is a great place to catch fish, the section in the St. Paul area is not a great place from which to consume them. The Minnesota Department of Health says fish taken from Pool 2 (Ford Dam to Hastings Dam) and its backwater lakes, including Pig’s Eye Lake, should not be eaten by children under age 15 or by women who are pregnant, may become pregnant or are breastfeeding. All others should limit consumption to just one serving a month. The reason is fish in Pool 2 contain high levels of mercury and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment.

This summer, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a draft of its Impaired Waters list, which includes the Mississippi River. The MPCA creates the list every two years for water bodies that fail to meet water quality standards. A body of water is considered impaired if it has one or more of the following: mercury levels that lead to limits on fish consumption, nutrients that grow algae, sediment that clouds water, bacteria that can make water unsafe for swimming, unhealthy conditions for fish and bugs, PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate, a forever chemical) found in fish tissue, and sulfate levels that may hinder the production of wild rice. The main factors affecting water quality in the Mississippi are stormwater and farmland runoff, sediment and erosion control, and invasive species – Pool 2 contains several aquatic invasive species, including Eurasian water milfoil, flowering rush, zebra mussels , silver carp and bighead carp. These and other factors have contributed to large amounts of phosphorus, sediment, and bacteria to surface waters and increased nutrient, contaminant and sedimentation.

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Pool 2 has the best population of walleye and sauger in the area, and the most popular time to fish them is in the fall and winter, when fish are concentrated in the area between the St. Paul airport and the I-494 bridge. Catfish, northern pike, crappie and bluegill are also found in Pool 2, which is open to fishing year round. However, fishing there for walleye, sauger, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass is restricted to catch and release only.