Soil & Water Conservation District Guidebook 2008 - Minnesota ...

Pictured: One of 25 sedimentation reduction projects
that were recently completed in the upland areas of
State Highway 169 in Nicollet County.
Sedimentation problems along State
Highway 169 between Mankato and Le Sueur led the
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT)
offi ce in Mankato to seek assistance from the SWCD
and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
It was determined that to be successful in reducing
the sedimentation along State Highway 169 the
projects needed to be implemented in upland areas
of the watersheds, with cost-share incentives for the
participating landowners. The NRCS and SWCD
spent many hours in the engineering and construction
inspection. If that work had been done by a private fi rm,
those engineering costs would have exceeded $40,000.
The SWCD and NRCS worked with seven local
landowners to complete 25 sedimentation reduction
projects. Total construction costs were $153,607. The
estimated tons of soil saved per year is 657, and total
reduction of peak fl ow is 150 percent.
A wetland Restoration project was
recently completed in the northeast quarter of Belgrade
Township. The restoration included native grass seeding
and re-routing county tile #58. This restored wetland
on the public drainage system has proven to be an
effective way to treat Nitrogen, resulting in improved
downstream water quality.
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Nicollet Soil & Water Conservation District
Thousands of feet of terraces were
installed in New Sweden Township to reduce
sediment from entering receiving waters. The
SWCD along with NRCS completed 3,900 feet of
terraces. The total project cost was $53,270, $19,177
of which was funded through the State Cost-Share
Program, $15,000 was funded through the USDA
Environmental Quality Incentive Program, and
$19,093 was paid by the operator.
Reducing agricultural runoff from cropland
and feedlots
Maintain, enhance and increase wetlands
within the county
Reduce stormwater runoff
Drainage management
Filter strips along riparian corridors, bluff
land interface and drainage ditches
Future Projects
Integrating solar/wind powered pumps with
restored wetlands to treat agricultural drainage
water: The SWCD along with the Brown - Nicollet
Water Quality Joint Powers Board will be using
restored wetlands to pump water from an existing
drainage system to the wetland using solar/wind
powered pumps. This project will demonstrate new
technologies and engineering to reduce nitrate loads
at the watershed scale.
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