Karst field tour; drones; source water protection grants: Clean Water Council update

Minnesota Clean Water Council sent this bulletin at 09/19/2019 07:00 AM CDT

Council Field Tour in Southeastern Minnesota

The Clean Water Council held its biennial field tour of projects supported by the Clean Water Fund on September 15-16. The focus was on water quality in areas with karst geology in southeastern Minnesota.

On September 15th, the Council heard presentations by the Minnesota Geological Survey about karst geology and hydrology; Minnesota DNR on county geologic atlases for Olmsted and Fillmore Counties; the Minnesota Well Owners Organization on drinking water contamination challenges for private well owners in karst; water related challenges in the City of Rochester; MPCA staff on Zumbro River Watershed Restoration & Protection Strategies (WRAPS); BWSR on comprehensive watershed management plans in southeastern Minnesota; and DNR on the restoration of Cascade Creek in Rochester. The International Water Institute then asked participants to prepare some one-foot cedar canoes to launch the next day.

On September 16th, the group took an all-day bus tour, including stops at the restored Cascade Creek with speakers from DNR, Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the City of Rochester; in Chatfield to hear from the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Rural Water Association, and the City of Chatfield about protection of the city's water supply within a Drinking Water Source Management Area (DWSMA) and with the use of Kernza®, a perennial intermediate wheatgrass that can absorb excess nitrogen; in Fountain to see a major spring that illustrates the movement of groundwater in karst with the Minnesota Geological Survey and DNR; in Preston for lunch and to launch the cedar canoes downstream; and near Grand Meadow to hear about nitrate sampling in southeastern Minnesota from the Department of Agriculture and at the DeWall Farm to see a field station monitoring nitrogen as part of the Field to Stream Partnership, with speakers including the property owner, the Department of Agriculture, CHS, the Nature Conservancy, and Mower Soil and Water Conservation District.

Local media covered the field tour, including the Rochester Post-Bulletin, KIMT, and KTTC.

We will post copies of presentations at our web site soon.

Photo: Visiting the DeWall Farm in Mower County

Clean Water Fund Project Updates

Drones and Drainage

The Pennington County Soil and Water Conservation District was recently featured on Minnesota Public Radio for using drones to monitor land use in a sparsely populated area. The SWCD has used a 2017 Accelerated Implementation Grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources--using the Clean Water Fund--to purchase a drone that efficiently locates erosion and other water quality issues in agricultural drainage ditches. The technology can inspect problems with accuracy in a timely fashion in areas that are usually inaccessible.

Source Water Protection Competitive Grants

The Minnesota Department of Health has a Competitive Grant opportunity that will be available on Oct. 1, 2019 to all community and nontransient noncommunity public water systems. The grant program is supported by the Clean Water Fund.

The purpose of this funding is to support activities that address a potential contamination source that presents a high risk to a source of drinking water as determined by the Minnesota Department of Health. An equal cost share is required for receiving this grant. The minimum amount for any grant is $500 and the maximum amount is $10,000.

Deadline for applications is 4:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 2019. To download an application form and to review more detailed information about this grant program, please go to the Department of Health website.