The Wapsipinicon watershed in southern Buchanan County, Iowa, has received $4.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve flooding resilience and reduce nutrient pollution. The Upper Wapsipinicon River Watershed Management Authority plans to use approximately half of the funding for a comprehensive watershed plan and the rest to fund up to 75% cost-share in best management practices (BMPs) for volunteer landowners in the targeted area. BMPs eligible for funding assistance will include farm ponds, wetland rehabilitation, saturated buffers, terraces, water and sediment control basins, and oxbow restorations.

“When you reduce flooding, you also reduce sediment and nutrient pollution. They go hand in hand,” said Ross Evelsizer, watershed planner at the Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development Agency.

Similarly funded projects are underway in eight other Iowa watersheds including, the Middle Cedar, Upper Iowa and English rivers, Clear Creek, Bee Branch, North Raccoon, East Nishnabotna and West Nishnabotna rivers. The comprehensive flood plan for the Wapsipinicon watershed is still under development but the project is expect to being later this year, as reported by The Gazette of Eastern Iowa. Beyond flood control, the project is also expected to improve water quality and create wildlife habitat.