ROCKWELL CITY — Three agencies have joined forces to launch a water quality project in Calhoun County.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Monday that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has formed a partnership with Calhoun County and the Calhoun County Soil and Water Conservation District to launch the first phase of the North Raccoon Edge-of-Field Project.

The goal of the first phase of this water quality project is to install more than 25 edge-of-field conservation practices, including bioreactors and saturated buffers, in the North Raccoon River watershed. These science-based practices, which are outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, are proven to improve water quality and reduce the loss of nutrients into Iowa’s waterways, according to the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Iowa’s “batch and build” model modernizes the project management process by installing batches of conservation practices on multiple farms at once, therefore allowing a faster acceleration of water quality progress.

“Proven edge-of-field practices like bioreactors and saturated buffers help to keep nutrients out of our rivers, lakes and streams,” said Naig. “By forming this partnership in Calhoun County, we can accelerate the installation of these practices and improve our water quality. We invite and encourage all area farmers and landowners to learn more about how they can join this exciting water quality partnership.”

“Water is one of our most important natural resources, and finding ways to protect and improve its quality remains essential to modern agricultural practices. Saturated buffer and bioreactors are two designs in the overall toolbox of practices which can be incorporated into existing drainage systems while remaining cost effective to implement,” said the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors and Brian Blomme, the drainage engineer for Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties, in a joint statement. “We look forward to coordinating with IDALS, Iowa State University researchers, local contractors, and landowners in completing installation of these practices through a batch and build process. We encourage any interested landowner to reach out to us if they are interested in participating.”

Calhoun County will act as the fiscal agent for the project and provide contracting oversight for practice installation. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will reimburse Calhoun County for eligible project construction costs and provide technical, design and engineering support. The Calhoun County Soil and Water Conservation District will enter into maintenance agreements with landowners, provide technical assistance and issue a certification upon completion.