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About the Walnut Creek Watershed Project
What's the problem with Walnut Creek? Walnut Creek was placed on Iowa's impaired waters list in 2002 due to its inability to support aquatic life, such as fish and insects. This problem has been traced to excess soil and nutrients in the water. Each year, erosion causes 30,000 pounds of phosphorus to wash into Walnut Creek. It also washes in enough sediment each year to fill a line of dump trucks seven miles long. Livestock can also contribute to the erosion of the streambank, and their waste may lead to high levels of bacteria and ammonia. Large amounts of ammonia can be lethal to aquatic life. What's being done to help Walnut Creek? The Walnut Creek Watershed Project has been underway since January 2008. The project is working with landowners to install conservation practices such as:
Landowners can partner with the Walnut Creek Watershed Project to use conservation practices on their land. Jeremy Saugstad, project coordinator, can help landowners decide which projects would work best for their land and the creek. Financial assistance may be available for those looking to begin these projects. Contact Saugstad at (641) 528-2065 or Jeremy.Saugstad@ia.nacdnet.net to learn more. Residents can also participate in water monitoring through the IOWATER program. Through this voluntary program, residents are trained and equipped with water sampling kits in order to test the quality of water in their area. The information collected is submitted to an online database which the public can view. Visit the IOWATER website to learn more. What is the future of Walnut Creek? The project aims to reduce soil reaching the stream by 3,205 tons per year and reduce phosphorus reaching the stream by 4,167 pounds per year. Working with the Walnut Creek Watershed Project to accomplish these goals, landowners and residents can help improve the quality of the creek so that wildlife can thrive and future generations can enjoy the creek for years to come. Back to top
Meet the project coordinator Jeremy Saugstad, Walnut Creek Watershed Project Coordinator, wants to get the community involved in improving the water quality in the creek. With nearly 15 years of farming experience, Saugstad would like to help farmers improve the land and water quality with conservation practices. "Most farmers know about different conservation practices, but we would like to educate them further on how these improvements can impact the soil and water quality in the area," said Saugstad. Saugstad, who lives in Grinnell, became the project coordinator for the Walnut Creek Watershed Project in January 2008 after working with the Holiday Lake watershed in 2007. "Landowners should learn to conserve today for a better tomorrow," said Saugstad. "I am working on this project in order to help preserve our natural resources- our land and our water."
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