Goodhue DWSMA - Nitrate Protection Initiative

This soil health funding opportunity will focus on reducing nitrate contamination in the City of Goodhue's municipal water supply. The Goodhue SWCD and the City of Goodhue will expand on existing partnerships within the Wellhead Protection Area which surrounds city limits. Goodhue's 2,500 acres DWSMA sits in the Karst and Driftless Region of SE MN. About 2,000 acres of Goodhue's DWSMA are in row cropped agriculture and roughly 500 of which have been identified by the MDH as highly vulnerable; these areas will be the main focus of implementation. The City and SWCD will partner on providing outreach to the community, host demonstration events and provide incentives to landowners implementing soil health practices. A suite of soil health practices will be promoted and installed on agricultural lands in the DWSMA to help reduce nitrogen leaching through the groundwater system. The goals is to have improved residential drinking water for the City of Goodhue, while having producers realize the environmental and economic advantages of soil health practices beyond the grant period