Watershed will benefit residents
By ROWENA PLETT
Reporter / photographer
Peggy Blackman of Marion is coordinator of the Marion Reservoir Water Quality Project approved for Marion County Conservation District.
The five-year project, along with a general buffer program, is funded through a $450,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The first installment, $50,000, has been received for the 2002-2003 fiscal year (July-June), and $60,000 is in-line for the following year. It requires a 40 percent match in money and/or labor.
The purpose of the project is to protect and enhance water quality in the lake and its tributaries through such things as grass buffers and waterways, no-till farming, shoreline stabilization, and livestock waste systems.
Blackman said preventing water pollution will benefit all who receive their water from the reservoir. Included are the towns of Marion, Peabody, and Hillsboro, as well as several rural water districts, comprising a total of 15,500 people.
The Marion Reservoir watershed covers approximately 200 square miles. About 90 percent is in Marion County. The other 10 percent is in McPherson County.
As can be seen from the accompanying map, many tributaries drain into the North Cottonwood River which, in turn, drains into the reservoir. French Creek also drains into it.
Blackman said she will be contacting landowners with property along these waterways about various ways they can participate in and benefit from the watershed project. She also will be conducting workshops. She said landowners are not required to be in the farm program to participate.
Landowners who choose to participate can receive up to 70 percent cost-share. A maximum of $2,000 per landowner per project has been set. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will do the technical planning.
The first implementation of the project began Friday, Blackman said, with a plan to shore-up and protect 500 feet of shoreline between two points along the east side of the reservoir.
According to Blackman, sedimentation of the reservoir is occurring 30 percent faster than projected. The ebb and flow of water has eroded the soil, producing sediment in the lake and creating wash-outs and a steep bank.
Red Cedars are being cut down and laid three-deep along the shore (see photos). Blackman said the project will create new fish habitat and also will break incoming waves. The Army Corps of Engineers is doing a lot of the labor, as well as community volunteers.
Money for corps employees' time spent on the project will not come from the grant, Blackman said. The project is expected to take several months to complete.
A second program, the buffer project, is available to assist landowners throughout the county. $10,000 in funding has been approved for 2003. Buffers can be strips of grass on terraces or in crop fields. Grass, shrubs, or trees can be planted at the edge of crop fields and other locations.
In addition to preventing soil erosion and filtering pollutants such as chemicals and livestock waste, buffers will attract and support wildlife, making the program attractive to hunters.
Blackman said farmers are showing a lot of interest in establishing wildlife habitat. She believes the watershed project will prove to be an economic benefit to those who participate and to the county as a whole.
Farmers interested in participating can contact Blackman at the Marion County Conservation District office, 303 Eisenhower, Marion. The phone number is 382-3520.
