Cedar - Wapsipinicon Implementation

The entities of the Cedar Wapsipinicon watershed planning area hope to achieve the Cedar Wapsipinicon Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan goals, including surface water quality, groundwater quality, excessive sedimentation and erosion, and flooding goals. Work includes cost-share incentives, project development, technical/engineering assistance, education/outreach, and administration/grant reporting. Cost-share incentives consists of expanding and accelerating septic assessments, with cost-sharing of inspections, and grants to low-income landowners requiring septic system upgrades for failing systems. Cost-share incentives will fund traditional and innovative conservation practices including but not limited to grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, saturated buffers, denitrifying bioreactors, multi-purpose drainage management, well decommissioning, soil health practices, and capital improvement projects. It's anticipated that approximately 14 structural/non-structural practices will be installed, working to reduce E. coli loading to surface and groundwater, reducing P loading by an estimated 89 lbs/year, N loading by an estimated 8,617 lbs/year, TSS loading by an estimated 475 T/year, and increasing runoff storage by an estimated 175 ac. ft., focused in targeted areas of the Cedar Wapsipinicon watershed. Staff time to plan and develop, then survey and design structural/non-structural conservation projects focused in targeted areas will be funded, along with education/outreach activities, including contacting landowners for the septic program, and contacting private well owners for well decommissioning. Additional education/outreach activities will consist of planning and holding soil health and nutrient management field days/workshops, and developing an educational resource access site. It's estimated that 10% will be used for administration of the plan/grant reporting, and approximately 5% on fiscal tracking of the grant.