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If you're the coordinator of a watershed project that's received a Watershed Planning Grant or Watershed Implementation Grant from the DNR, a number of tools, services and resources are available to you.
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Watershed improvement news
Clean Water Starts With Us is a quarterly e-newsletter for watershed project coordinators and all those considering working on a local watershed effort.
The newsletter is jointly published with our watershed improvement partners, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-Division of Soil Conservation, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The newsletters are in PDF file format.
To receive the newsletter via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to join-clean_water@lists.ia.gov
or contact editor Jessie Brown at Jessie.Brown@dnr.iowa.gov.
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Meeting recaps
Find presentations and other materials from project coordinator statewide meetings.
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DNR water quality tools
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Assistance and support
DNR Watershed Improvement staff can assist with your project from the planning stages to completion, from technical assistance to help with your public relations campaign.
The DNR, along with our watershed improvement partners (Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship- Division of Soil Conservation
and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service), offers the following:
Technical assistance
From the sediment delivery calculator to tools to use in the field, a number of support options are available to watershed projects.
The DNR and its partners can assist with assessments in the watershed, which help determine what the problems are and where they're coming from.
These include stream (RASCAL), gully, watershed land cover and tillage, livestock and other assessments.
Project coordinators can use tools from the DNR, like tablet computers and hand-held GIS units, to complete these assessments.
Project coordinators can also use the Sediment Delivery Calculator, a database that calculates sediment delivery reduction resulting from conservation practices installed during a project.
Projects can receive advice on selection and design of conservation practices, as well as help with cost-share and funding assistance issues from DNR, DSC and NRCS.
More information on technical assistance is available from Adam Kiel at (515) 282-6149 or Adam.Kiel@dnr.iowa.gov
or from one of the Basin Coordinators.
Project guidance
Three Basin Coordinators work with watershed projects
on assessments, grant applications and developing local watershed efforts. The basin coordinators Vince Sitzmann, Jeff Tisl and Bob Waters -
can also answer day-to-day questions from project coordinators.
The DNR’s two project officers, Kyle Ament and Rachel Glaza, work with the projects and Basin Coordinators on project planning, development and oversight, and contracts.
The project officers also serve as a contact with EPA and can answer questions on eligibility for 319 funds. Once you have a grant, DNR project officers will visit you in the field at least twice a year to help you reach your watershed improvement goals.
Both the Basin Coordinators and DNR project officers can help plan your project.
Project officer and basin coordinator contact info
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Outreach assistance
Help on your public outreach efforts (sometimes referred to as "Information and Education") is available from DNR Information Specialist Jessie Brown.
She can assist in creating public outreach plans and campaigns, as well as helping develop and review individual pieces.
Contact Jess with any questions at (515) 281-5131 or Jessie.Brown@dnr.iowa.gov.
Find additional outreach materials at the EPA's Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox site.
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Staff contacts
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Assistance from our partners
The Section 319 program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides DNR funding for nonpoint pollution programs. The DNR generally funds local watershed projects in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship - Division of Soil Conservation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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