Improving the Water Quality along Connelly Ditch
This water quality improvement project involves the retrofit of county ditch #31 also known as Connelly Ditch. The capacity of the ditch is inadequate and there is a need to reduce sediment and peak flows to it.
This project will retrofit the lower 6.5 miles of the ditch and will consist of installing 50 side-inlet structures where current field ditches and old culverts exist; 6.5 miles of water and sediment control structures and 25 acres of buffer strips. When completed, these components will become a permanent part of the ditch system. In addition upland conservation practices will be installed in the watershed to further reduce erosion and sedimentation. These include 1000 acres of cover crop, 5 miles of windbreaks, 200 acres of bufferstrips and 700 acres of reduced tillage. Together all practices will reduce sediment loading by 335 tons/year and peak flows by 50 to 75 percent.
The 20-member BWSR board consists of representatives of local and state government agencies and citizens. Members are appointed by the governor of the state of Minnesota consistent with Minnesota Statutes 103B.101. Board members at the time the grant was made were: County Commissioner Appointees: Quentin Fairbanks; Tom Loveall; Brian Napstad; Soil and Water Conservation District Appointees: Paul Langseth, Louise Smallidge and Bob Burandt; Watershed District or Watershed Management Organization Appointees: Gene Tiedemann, LuAnn Tolliver and Todd Foster; Citizen Appointees: Paul Brutlag ; Gerald Van Amburg; John Meyer; Cities & Townships: Sandy Hooker -Township; Christy Jo Fogarty -Metro City; Keith Mykleseth -Non-Metro City; Agency: Chris Elvrum - Minnesota Department of Health; Rebecca Flood - Pollution Control Agency; Tom Landwehr - Department of Natural Resources; Matt Wohlman - Minnesota Department of Agriculture; Faye Sleeper - Minnesota Extension Service;
Bill Thompson - MPCA Project Manager and Research Scientist; Sonia Maassel Jacobsen - Hydraulic Engineer, NRCS; Bruce Henningsgaard - Principal Engineer; William P Anderson - Principal Engineer; Greg Eggers - Drainage Engineer, MN DNR; Jim Solstad - Hydrologist 3; Allan M. Kean - Chief Engineer, BWSR; Adam Birr - Impaired Waters Technical Coordinator;
Nicole Clapp
(d) $1,000,000 the first year and $1,000,000 the second year are for technical assistance and grants for the conservation drainage program in consultation with the Drainage Work Group, created under Minnesota Statutes, section 103B.101, subdivision 13, that consists of projects to retrofit existing drainage systems with water quality improvement practices, evaluate outcomes, and provide outreach to landowners, public drainage authorities, drainage engineers and contractors, and others.
Project Outputs:Install 6.5 miles of water and sediment control structures, 50 side-Inlet structures, and 25 acres of bufferstrips - Otter Tail River and Red River of the North. BMP Promotions: Install 1000 acres of cover crops, 5 miles of windbreaks, 200 acres of bufferstrips, and 700 acres of reduced tillage - Otter Tail River and Red River of the North. Proposed Reductions:335 tons/year Sediment
This project has resulted in an estimated 665 ton/yr sediment reduction (TSS).
The source of additional funds varies from project to project, but generally consists of federal, local and non-public sources.