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CHARLES CITY PRESS | WWW.CHARLESCITYPRESS.COM | FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2025
Charles City’s role in water management is paying dividends Best practices examples employed in ag areas and in town are having positive results
By Dave Ruble Special to the Press Eight years ago, Charles City began a series of projects to improve the the area’s water- shed. By all indications, it has worked. In 2016, Charles City was awarded $1.6 million from the Natural Resources Conserva- tion Service to implement water best management practices in the Upper Cedar Watershed up- stream in Floyd and Mitchell counties. One of the prime goals was nutrient reduction, according to William Kopp, watershed proj- ect coordinator for the Floyd County Soil and Conservation District, who took over from Doug Johnson last September. “Doug really got the ball roll- ing,” Kopp said. “He did a lot of the legwork.” According to Johnson, the idea behind the project was to install numerous stormwater and water quality protection practices that would be ap- plicable on urban residences, businesses and industry sites to reduce stormwater fl ow off of those areas and instead in fi ltrate the rainfall into the soil. The goal was to avoid allow- ing the water to runoff into the storm sewer system and then
directly into the river. Iowa has the second highest cancer rate in the nation, and is the fastest growing number of cases. Some sources have linked that to nitrates and other nutri- ents present in farm fi eld runoff. Controlling that has been a major target, and that “unique partnership with the city and county is coming to an end,” Kopp said. “We met and sur- passed our goals.” “Many farmers are taking initiatives proven to decrease erosion and nutrient runoff,” Kopp said, adding that the Iowa Soybean Association and Iza- ak Walton League have been among the fi nancial backers of the projects. Also contributing in various ways were Charles City, the Floyd and Mitchell Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Iowa Department of Agri- culture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Exten- sion, Floyd County Board of Supervisors, Ecosystem Ser- vices Exchange, the Floyd and Mitchell County Farm Bureaus, Charles City Rotary, Trees For- ever, Iowa DNR, University of Iowa Institute for Hydrosci- ence and Engineering and Iowa Flood Center, and the Nature Conservancy.
Kopp said that the project had sought a 30 percent adoption rate of water quality protection practices among watershed op- erations. It received 47 percent. “We provided technical as- sistance to over 200 farms and we exceeded our goal of 10,000 acres of cover crops,” he said. Floyd County has also seen an increase in reduced tillage and no-tillage practices. Healthy soils work as a living ecosystem that sustains plants and animals. Bene fi ts include long-term environmentally and economi- cally sustainable crop and live- stock production systems, more nutritious food, and less depen- dence on fertilizers, pesticides and tillage to produce food. Crops also have greater resil- ience to weather extremes. The project also implement- ed “edge of fi eld” conservation practices in the watershed area that route water through bio- reactors, saturated bumpers or small wetlands – practices that remove the nitrates from the water into the tile and reduce the nitrates in the watershed. “People understand there is an issue,” Kopp said. “They are very open to new ideas.” Bioreactors – shallow areas fi lled with woodchips – are an-
Submitted photo A bioreactor is installed on Floyd County Conservation land at Mink Creek. Bioreactors are shal- low-dug areas fi lled with wood chips. They allow for denitri fi cation of farm runoff water, converting nitrates to nitrogen.
other practice in the watershed. Bioreactors can remove 40 to 60 percent of nitrates, convert- ing them to stable nitrogen, an integral part of the atmosphere. Even more effective are wet- lands. “That’s a bigger commitment from farmers,” Kopp said, but it has a big result. A few acres of marginal farm- land turned into wetland can capture over 500 acres worth of runoff. The landowner, while maintaining ownership of the land, retains interest. Such wetlands can remove 80 to 90 percent of nitrates, Kopp
said, “and it adds to wildlife habitat and has a myriad of ben- e fi ts.” Farmers interested in learn- ing more about wetland projects can attend an NRCS fi eld day on April 10 at the New Haven Mennonite Community Center. Kopp said he is also excit- ed about oxbow restoration. “We’re looking to develop a new project along the Shell Rock River,” he said. An oxbow wetland is a seg- ment of a stream, river or creek that has become separated from the fl ow of water. Oxbow wet- lands store excess water that
might otherwise lead to fl ood- ing, fi lter water to improve wa- ter quality and provide habitat to a variety of wildlife. Over time, some oxbows fi ll in with sediment due to erosion of soil in surrounding areas. Studies have shown that, on average, tile-fed oxbows fi lter 62 percent of excess nutrients from water that fl ows into them. They can also store up to 1 mil- lion gallons of water per acre and can slow stormwater before it enters rivers and streams. And they provide wildlife habitat. WATER , turn to page C6
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