Le Sueur County CD61 Storage & Treatment Wetland

Le Sueur County Ditch (CD) 61 is going through a ditch improvement process. The landowners of the system have identified (ID) that the CD is no longer functioning the way it was originally designed and something needed to be done due to excess maintenance and little drainage benefit. The project has been ID in numerous plans for priority, the plans have ID that storage is needed. One of the petitioners has approved using his upper watershed land as a storage and treatment basin (STB). The site will be 30.4 acres in size, 15.4 acres will be the restored wetland, along with a 15.0-acre upland buffer that will be planted to native vegetation. The CD system improvement plan had identified other options for storage, but all other options were for in-channel storage of the ditch system by reducing culvert sizes to accomplish storage. The STB option is the best option for the system and will provide the greatest storage and water quality benefits. The cost of the project will be $55,109 for construction, seeding and engineering; $223,632 for the 30.4-acre CD easement; $8,600 for Admin and TA. The project will provide an overall 76.56 T/yr of Sediment reduction, 52.55 T/yr of estimated Soil savings, and 170.02 lbs/yr of estimated Phosphorus reduction which will help address the reduction needed for Scotch Lake downstream. A calculated 17.2 acre/feet of water will be stored by the 15.4-acre wetland restoration and will help treat the upstream watershed of 535 acres.