St. Peter Wellhead Project 33
Lying in the area west of Saint Peter, MN is the 4,500 Acre Drinking Water Supply Management Area serving the city of 12,000 residents. This supply area is the only source of drinking water in the community with 25% being drawn from the Jordan Aquifer. All residents of Saint Peter use this source drinking water. Currently, water is blended between multiple depth wells to reduce Nitrate levels below Federal Drinking Water Standards of 10ppm. Without blending, nitrate levels are almost 3 times higher than drinking water standards. With the installation of best management practices, the goal of this project is to reduce nitrate levels by 50%, or 6-14 parts per million on average at the source well. A second goal is to promote public awareness about wellhead and drinking water protection. To achieve this goal, Nicollet SWCD, along with the City of Saint Peter, Nicollet County and the Project 33 Watershed Committee, will work together to plan and implement water retention practices, and best management practices within the wellhead protection area. These practices will include Cover Crop Incentives on 500 acres, Nutrient Management Plans on 500 acres, continued promotion of spring applied nitrogen practices, 10 Water & Sediment Control Basins, 1 Drop Pipe Structure, 5 Alternative Intakes and 2 Drainage Water Management Structures. Nitrate, phosphorus and sediment reductions will be achieved through structure installation and utilizing beneficial farming practices and nutrient application practices as identified in Nutrient Management Plans. Reduction estimates for nitrate is 25% as measured at the source wells.
Annie Felix-Gerth
(b) $16,000,000 the first year and $16,000,000 the second year are for grants to local government units to protect and restore surface water and drinking water; to keep water on the land; to protect, enhance, and restore water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams; and to protect groundwater and drinking water, including feedlot water quality and subsurface sewage treatment system projects and stream bank, stream channel, shoreline restoration, and ravine stabilization projects. The projects must use practices demonstrated to be effective, be of long-lasting public benefit, include a match, and be consistent with total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans, watershed restoration and protection strategies (WRAPS), or local water management plans or their equivalents. A portion of this money may be used to seek administrative efficiencies through shared resources by multiple local governmental units. Up to 20 percent of this appropriation is available for land-treatment projects and practices that benefit drinking water. & (j) $850,000 the first year and $850,000 the second year are for technical assistance and grants for the conservation drainage program in consultation with the Drainage Work Group, coordinated under Minnesota Statutes, section 103B.101, subdivision 13, that includes projects to improve multipurpose water management under Minnesota Statutes, section 103E.015.
Nitrogen and sediment reductions of 100 tons/year and phosphorus reductions of 200 lbs/year are expected in the watershed. Outcomes will be measured by calculating the reduced inputs across acres and pollution reduction calculator tools.
11 WASCOB structures total. Nutrient Management plans in place under 3 year contracts for a total of just under 900 acres in the wellhead protection area. Landowner interest was low on much of the conservation practices in the region. The large drop structure proposed in the application fell through as the property changed hands before the structure could be constructed.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS