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For Immediate Release: Friday, Sept. 28, 2018
Funding available to help install and showcase water
quality practices in urban areas
DES MOINES – Iowa
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that pre-applications are
now being accepted for conservation projects located in urban areas that are
focused on improving water quality.
Proposed
projects should be based on local collaborative efforts that focus on implementing
conservation measures that reduce a property's contribution to water quality
degradation, runoff and flooding. Examples of eligible urban practices include wetlands,
bioretention cells, native landscaping and other approved nutrient reduction
practice technologies.
“Urban
water quality projects are a key tool to showcase things that can be done in
towns and cities to help slow stormwater runoff and protect water quality. I
encourage interested communities, watershed groups and other organizations to
take this opportunity to learn about the cost-share funding that is available
and consider applying,” Naig said.
Cities,
counties, county conservation boards, Soil and Water Conservation District
(SWCDs), or other units of government, not-for-profit non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), public water supply utilities or watershed management
organizations are eligible to submit applications.
In
addition to demonstrating urban conservation practices, proposed projects
should be based on established partnerships and include strong outreach/education
components. Successful projects will serve as local and regional hubs for
demonstrating practices and providing information on available technologies to
homeowners, municipalities, businesses, and local communities.
The
pre-applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018.
Pre-applications selected to submit a full application will be notified by Jan.
11, 2019 and the full applications will be due on Feb. 8, 2019. Projects
selected to receive funding will be announced in early March.
Project
pre-application guidance can be found here or
can be requested by contacting the Department’s Division of Soil Conservation
and Water Quality at 515-281-5851.
This
is the fifth year that Urban Conservation Water Quality Initiative Demonstration
Project funding has been offered through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and
Land Stewardship. Currently, 43 projects have been awarded funding, nine in
2015, 12 in 2016, 12 in 2017 and ten in 2018. In total, the state has awarded
more than $3.24 million in funding and partners and landowners participating in
the projects will provide more than $9.4 million to support urban conservation
efforts.
Background on
Iowa Water Quality Initiative
The
Iowa Water Quality Initiative was established in 2013 to help implement the
Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which is a science and technology based approach
to achieving a 45 percent reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus losses to our
waters. The strategy brings together both point sources, such as
municipal wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint
sources, including farm fields and urban stormwater runoff to address these
issues.
The
Initiative seeks to harness the collective ability of both private and public
resources and organizations to deliver a clear and consistent message to
stakeholders to reduce nutrient loss and improve water quality.
The
initiative is seeing some exciting results. This fall, 2,800 farmers invested
an estimated $9 million in funding to match $5 million in state cost share
funds to adopt cover crops, no-till or strip till, or use a nitrification
inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer. Participants include more than 1,000
farmers using a practice for the first time and nearly 1,800 past users who are
trying cover crops again and are receiving a reduced rate of cost share.
A
total of 64 demonstration projects are currently located across the state to
help implement and demonstrate water quality practices. More than 250
organizations are participating in these projects. These partners will
provide $42.2 million to go with the $31.5 million in state funding going to
these projects.
More
than $420 million in funding has been documented for efforts in support of the
Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy last year. This represents a $32 million
increase of funding in support of Iowa water quality programs and conservation
efforts over the previous year.
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For more information, contact Dustin Vande Hoef, (515) 281-3375 or (515) 326-1616 (cell) or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov
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