Ripley Nitrogen Reduction Implementation

Nitrogen is a serious problem in Minnesota's Mississippi River Basin and the Dodge Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) plans to address this problem through the instillation of six nitrogen reducing agricultural best management practices in the Dodge/Steele Joint County Ditch No. 11 system, also known as the Ripley Ditch system. Agriculture drainage, through the use of agricultural tile drainage systems, has been identified as the number one leading source of nitrogen in the Mississippi River Basin. The Ripley Ditch System is heavily tiled and models have shown it to be a major source of nitrogen in the Zumbro River Watershed. The Nitrate form has been linked to adverse health effects, while nitrogen is widely known as the leading cause of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Through this grant the Dodge SWCD, partnering with Dodge County, plans to treat agriculture tile drainage systems draining to the Ripley Ditch System through the installation of 6 nitrogen reducing projects, reducing an estimated 1,590 lbs./year from the waters in the Zumbro River Watershed.