Jefferson County Kids receive grant for water quality project

FAIRFIELD — Jefferson County Kids will receive more than $50,000 for a water quality project at its planned child care center in Fairfield.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that Jefferson County Kids was among the 12 organizations to receive funding from the state’s Water Quality Initiative. Jefferson County Kids is set to receive $53,365.

Jefferson County Kids is working with the Pathfinders RC&D and Jefferson County Health Center to install seven bioretention cells on the site of its new child care center, planned for Libertyville Road. The bioretention cells will include native plants that absorb rainwater into the soil, which helps reduce the volume of water flowing off the parking lot and roof to protect Indian Creek. The project includes plans for two acres of soil quality restoration after the construction is complete.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will provide financial and technical assistance to the communities and organizations that are implementing urban water quality practices to manage stormwater. These practices help reduce precipitation runoff by capturing and soaking up water and sediment from impervious surfaces.

“These urban conservation projects are great examples of how state and local partners are collaborating to make a meaningful impact on water quality, and they provide valuable road maps that other communities can follow,” Naig said. “When we all work together, we can improve our local water sources and help our neighbors downstream.”

To receive state funding, the urban water quality projects must include outreach and education components and local partners to support the project. These community-based projects raise awareness about new stormwater management methods and encourage others to adopt similar infrastructure-based practices to improve water quality in local bodies of water. These urban conservation projects include water quality practices like bioretention cells, bioswales, native plantings, permeable pavers, rain gardens, soil quality restoration and wetlands.

The state is investing over $1 million from the Water Quality Initiative fund to support these urban water quality projects and nearly $7 million is being contributed by other public and private partners.

Ashley Utt, executive director of Pathfinders RC&D, said bioretention cells are a way to capture and treat rain water. Jefferson County Kids’ new child care center will receive six of them in its parking lot, covering 5,000 square-feet. A seventh bioretention cell will be placed on the south side of the building to treat water running off the roof.

“These are native plants that encourage filtration of water into the soil to reduce the water getting into the creek and watershed,” Utt said.

Utt said the county and the Iowa Department of Land Stewarship identified this area as susceptible to erosion during high-volume rainstorms.

“Any way to slow down water flow will slow down bank erosion,” Utt said.

Joshua Laraby, Fairfield Economic Development Association director and member of Jefferson County Kids, said that Jefferson County Kids thanks Pathfinders and IDOLS for their leadership and partnership on this project.