decorahnews.com special report: While the Turkey River Watershed Management Authority worries about funding, the Central Turkey project proceeds

The Iowa Legislature has not yet taken final action on whether to provide $4 million a year in funding for Watershed Management Authorities within the state.  That means the Turkey River Watershed Management Authority faces some uncertainty.

But ironically the fact that a Turkey River WMA has been established has helped the Central Turkey River Nutrient Reduction Project to get funding for many of the improvements it has installed.

As decorahnews.com reported earlier, the latest $61,410 grant comes from the Iowa Department of Agriculture to help pay for projects to alleviate the runoff from the Iowa Dairy Center.  The Demonstration Urban Conservation Projects at NICC will include construction of an infiltration trench, a rain garden, a permeable pavement parking lot and gutters to direct water to these installations.

It's the latest grant since 2012 that has helped NICC re-establish wetland areas and create rain garden bioswales to reduce storm water and nutrient runoff into the Turkey River watershed.  The school has also created a rock chute wetland to reduce soil erosion near Iowa's Dairy Center and completed work on the water sediment control basin.  Using funding from other sources--grants from Rockwell Collins and the Iowa Living Roadways programs--NICC has created a butterfly garden, savanna, shelter belt and grassland and prairie areas.

The Winneshiek County Soil and Water Conservation District prepared the grant applications for the projects.  The Turkey River Watershed Management Authority provided a letter of support for the application.  Because the Turkey River Watershed has been designated a "Priority Watershed" by the Water Resources Coordinating Council, the grant applications were given a higher score. 

Northeast Iowa RC&D has been helping to provide technical assistance, research, facilitation and planning to the Turkey River WMA Board.  RC & D officials argue that if the legislature establishes a consistent funding source for WMAs statewide, more can be done for watersheds like the Turkey River that have been given priority status.

(Monday our special report concludes with final thoughts)