CRWD planning projects for 2012

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, December 28, 2011

It’s still 2011, but the Cedar River Watershed District now has the ball rolling for projects in 2012.

A $91,000 state grant has been approved to support the construction of water and sediment control basins in high-priority areas of the Cedar River watershed, upstream from the city of Austin.

For the third-straight year, Minnesota approved Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment funds for projects that help reduce flooding and improve water quality in the Cedar River watershed. Subwatersheds of Dobbins, Wolf and Roberts creeks are targeted by the grant, as well.

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CRWD’s previous clean water grants have funded stream revetments and ongoing work on a water retention area.

The upper Cedar watershed runoff reduction project will cost about $122,000, of which $30,000 will come from CRWD. Contract work will begin immediately, with construction anticipated to begin in fall 2012. The CRWD has two years to complete the work.

Agricultural producers sign a contract to maintain the practice for 10 years — the lifespan of the basins.

Water and sediment basins, or earthen embankments, will be built in the upper Cedar River watershed, which consists of about 50,000 acres, with half of those acres in the Dobbins Creek subwatershed.

The sediment control basins will form small ponds during heavy rains, according to Cody Fox, CRWD watershed technician. Instead of allowing heavy farm field runoff to go directly into streams, the ponds will trap soil while clean water will be channeled through small tile and released.

The project’s approach assures that water treatment starts on the top end and progressively works its way downstream while using best management practices, according to the CRWD.

“The CRWD recognizes that water quality and flood damage reduction goals can’t be accomplished without taking the battle to the source,” said Bev Nordby, CRWD administrator. “This initiative needs to start with flow reduction and a targeted approach to the upper most reaches of the CRWD’s most-critical waterways.”

In 2008, the CRWD received funding to study the Dobbins Creek watershed for projects that could improve water quality and slow stream flows. The study identified the north branch of Dobbins as a target area for seeking funds for BMPs and revealed that Dobbins Creek consistently exceeds the state’s water-quality standards for turbidity or dirty water. Dobbins Creek, which has south and north branches converging in northeast Jay C. Hormel Nature Center before it becomes East Side Lake — is prone to flash floods and has caused flooding in Austin.

CRWD already has begun practices to address issue areas of the Dobbins Creek subwatershed. The newly approved project will add to the CRWD’s ongoing progress.

“This is another tool in the box for reducing flow rates, keeping those soils at their highest point in the landscape and keeping them far away from the sensitive stream bodies,” Nordby said.