Drainage District 101
IDDA meeting covers basics for newly elected officials
The annual meeting of the Iowa Drainage District Association drew more than 100 people from all over the northwest part of the state, including supervisors, drainage clerks, and other officials, said IDDA Executive Director John Torbert.
Some of those officials have recently been elected.
“This was an agenda where we tried to get back to the basics,” Torbert said. “We have elections, and we have new county auditors coming in and new county supervisors coming in, and they may know about drainage or they may have no idea whatsoever what drainage is or how it works.”
Drainage districts were established to help move water out of farm fields so they can be more agriculturally productive. Northern Iowa has the most extensively drained farmland in the country — an estimated 9 million acres. County boards of supervisors act as trustees for the districts and are tasked with maintaining and cleaning them out.
Webster County Supervisor-elect Nick Carlson attended the meeting, along with current supervisors Merrill Leffler and Keith Dencklau. Dencklau is also president of IDDA.
Presenters talked about how land is classified or reclassified, which determines who pays what, Torbert said.
Matt Helmers, of Iowa State University, spoke on water quality and nutrient management, including Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program wetlands and bio-filters. These measures can cut back on nitrates like those addressed in the water works lawsuit.
Presenters also spoke on how to appeal if farmers feel their land has been classified as a ‘wetland’ unfairly by regulators, which affects where development is allowed under “swampbuster” laws.
Attendees also heard from the Iowa Agricultural Mitigation Bank, which develops wetlands in order to develop “credits” that can help farmers who need to do work that will affect wetlands.