Watonwan Watershed Drinking Water Protection
Members of the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA) in the Watonwan Watershed will work with citizens, and city staff in the Watonwan Basin to embark on a Drinking Water protection effort. The focus of the project will be the over 8,800 acres identified as High and Very Highly Vulnerable areas within six Drinking Water Supply Management Areas (DWSMAs) contained completely or partially within the Watonwan basin. We will accomplish this by installing conservation practices, to protect and improve the resource, as well as inform the public about the value of drinking water quality. This project will use the recommended actions in each Drinking Water Wellhead Protection Plan as a guide. We will have the ability to affect the drinking water for 95% of the population in the Watonwan Basin.
Potential contaminants in drinking water will be prevented/reduced by cost sharing recommended Best Management Practices (BMPs) outlined in the specific Drinking Water protection plans. The plans are for cities of Comfrey, Darfur, La Salle, Madelia, Mountain Lake, St. James, Truman, Windom, and the Red Rock Rural Water well field. All practices installed with this grant with the exception of well sealing will be in Highly Vulnerable Wellhead Protection areas only.
Well sealing, 10+ wells sealed within the projects nine DWSMAs.
Strong Information/ Education Effort
o10 drinking water public education events
o10 drinking water promotional signs
o50 drinking water protection public service radio spots
Urban and Rural Practices within Highly Vulnerable DWSMA's;
10 acres of nonnative lawn/sod areas improved to native cover
12.5 acres of urban forest tree planting, improving land cover with 250 large shade trees reducing/slowing storm water runoff.
Other plan identified BMPs will include urban storm water projects, cover crops, nutrient management, and erosion control practices. Some practices will be cost shared with other available funds.
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.
Grant Outcomes:
-Practices - 22.5 acres restored native cover, Cover crops 100 acres (3 yrs), Sealing 10 wells. This will result in a savings of: N 1,870 lbs., Phos. 310 lbs., Soil 150 T and TSS 150 T all per year.
Focused Educational Events
Application: 22.5 acres of restored native cover (10 acres sod. 12.5 acres urban forest. 100 acres of cover crops. 10 well sealings. (1870 N; 310 Phos; 150 Soil; 150 TSS.)10 Education events. 10 promotional signs. 50 radio spots.
Actual Results: 0 acres of sod. 21 acres of urban forest (297 trees). 150 acres per year of cover crops. 2 well sealings. (993 N; 2.13 Phos; 7.5 Soil; 1.33 TSS) 0 education events. 25 promotional signs. 60 radio spots.
Quite short on pollution reductions. Exceeded cover crop acres and signage and radio spots. Short on sod, but over on forestry. Short on well sealings.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS