Completed Grant Projects
Culvert Sizing Project on Judicial Ditch #1 - 2010
The NFCRWD has been awarded a 2010 Clean Water Fund Conservation Drainage Grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR).
Project Summary:
A flood damage reduction master plan will be prepared for the Judicial Ditch 1 watershed (approximately 25 square miles), which is tributary to the North Fork of the Crow River. Existing culverts within the watershed will be resized to reduce peak flow rates, flood damages and erosion potential downstream. Culvert sizing will typically result in smaller culverts, which will provide short-term temporary storage within channels and on adjacent lands upstream form road crossings. In addition to reducing peak flow rates, flood damages and downstream erosion, increased sediment and nutrient removal through extended detention time is expected. This project will be implemented through a subwatershed design approach in which all culverts will be sized as a master plan for the ditch system.
NFCRWD Agricultural BMP Project - 2012
The NFCRWD has been awarded a 2012 Clean Water Fund Conservation Drainage Grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR).
Project Summary:
The project will implement several agricultural conservation practices including rock inlets, controlled outlets and woodchip bioreactors, to reduce the nutrients, sediment and volume of water being transported by field tile. Changing open tile inlets to rock inlets will help in reducing sediment and phosphorus from entering the tile lines. Controlled outlets will help to reduce runoff and the nitrogen entering the ditches. Woodchip bioreactors will decrease both nitrogen and phosphorus. Implementation of these practices and continued education of landowners will assist in the reduction of nutrients entering the river.
2013 - Alternative Drainage Funding
The NFCRWD has been awarded a 2013 Clean Water Fund Conservation Drainage Grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR).
Project Summary:
In 2013, the District applied for and received funding through the Clean Water Fund distributed by the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). This funding comes from the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment. These funds will be used to cost share alternative drainage inlet practices.
The North Fork Crow River Watershed District's land use is mainly row crop agriculture with extensive public and private drainage systems that include open ditches and subsurface tile. A large portion of existing tile lines have open intakes that directly transport sediment and nutrients to open ditches leading to the North Fork Crow River (NFCR). The NFCR flows into Rice Lake which is impaired for aquatic recreation with excessive nutrients. The Rice Lake TMDL (approved by the EPA, June 2012) results show that 93% of the phosphorus loading is attributed to the NFCR with a goal of a 42% reduction. The TMDL Implementation plan states that a major source of phosphorus loading is from animal manure, which is being confirmed by the NFCRWD's E. coli sampling through its monitoring program.
Field applied manure has potential to runoff to open tile intakes being a direct path to surface water. This has increased in the recent years due to the loss of grass buffered tile intakes as a result of Roundup ready crops and grass buffers being over sprayed. Implementation of practices to reduce the nutrient loading from field tile will reduce loading into the NFCR and Rice Lake.
The District currently has funding to assist landowners in installing agricultural BMPs including alternative inlets (rock inlets or dense pattern tile intakes) and saturated buffers, to reduce the nutrients, sediment and volume of water being transported by field tile. The District has been able to install numerous intakes already and still has funding to complete additional projects.
Deadline for funding is December 31st, 2015.
2013 - Clean Water Assistant Grant - Wetland Restoration
The Prairie Storm wetland restoration project was installed on USFWS, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Waterfowl Production Area in western Stearns County. This project was funded with partnership with the NFCRWD (BWSR CWA grant) and Pheasants Forever. Project partners included local landowners, USFWS, Pheasants Forever and NFCRWD, this project could not have been accomplished without this partnership. Approximately 22.41 wetland acres of improved meadow/shrub swamp (type 2/6) were restored with this project.
2014 - North Fork Crow River Watershed District Drainage Inventory and Inspection Database
The North Fork Crow River Watershed District will develop an inventory and inspection database for 103E ditches under their drainage authority. The district will acquire a database software solution to conduct field inspections and to track ditch maintenance projects throughout the district. This software will be used to facilitate statutory compliance including developing a process for completing annual inspection and reporting requirements.
This project will establish a data management tool to aid the district in standardizing and conducting inspections for the public drainage systems. It will increase efficiency for staff to conduct inspections and prepare annual inspection plans and buffer strip compliance notices. Finally it will support the district’s need to have a comprehensive view of drainage system repair needs and violations that will lead to a more proactive approach in implementing water quality goals in the local management plans.