From Plan to Practice: 1W1P on the Ground
A series looking at SWCDs implementing best management practices in Minnesota's watersheds.
Prioritizing Drinking Water Protection in Goodhue SWCD
In recent years, drinking water protection has become a top priority for conservationists in Minnesota. As Goodhue SWCD District Manager Beau Kennedy observed, growing concerns about nitrate levels in drinking water have prompted many partners in his region to pursue conservation best management practices (BMPs) to improve water quality and protect drinking water. It’s a highlight of the Greater Zumbro River Watershed Plan, which covers 421 square miles of the Zumbro River watershed and 233 square miles of the Mississippi River Lake Pepin watershed.
Beau Kennedy
Goodhue SWCD Manager
With priorities in the action plan around reducing tillage to improve water quality, capturing, treating and storing runoff, and sealing wells, the Goodhue SWCD needed to reach landowners interested in these practices. Now, with its third round of watershed-based implementation funding (WBIF) approaching in January, Goodhue SWCD is leading creative outreach to get the word out about conservation programs.
The SWCD is partnering with media companies to produce compelling advertisements on local stations to encourage landowners to learn more about conservation opportunities. This year, viewers could see ads featuring families and farmers from the district during Minnesota Twins baseball and Minnesota Vikings football games, grabbing the attention and interest of local landowners.
Throughout the watershed, Kennedy estimates hundreds of projects have been completed since the adoption of the comprehensive plan.
“We are implementing projects on the landscape at a rate we have never done before,” Kennedy said. “We are reaching more landowners than ever, helping people with their operations and that in turn helps our water quality.”
The WBIF grants from the Clean Water Fund are a major driver of the district’s ability to tackle more projects and get to know more landowners.
A signature WBIF-supported project was a $450,000 feedlot upgrade to create a new manure storage pit on Tony Scheffler’s dairy farm in Minneola Township. The new pit has the capacity to hold 14 months of manure, which means Scheffler can apply nutrients from the manure when conditions are right. The project addresses area water quality by helping Scheffler be more precise in applying manure – a source of nitrogen – and preventing runoff with nitrates from passing into the watershed. Read more about the project from the Board of Water and Soil Resources.
As the partnership prepares for the availability of more WBIF funds in 2026, there’s already a great deal of interest, Kennedy said. Their attention-grabbing ads will be ready when that moment comes.
“We are holding off on outreach campaigns until then… There’s just so much interest in our practices,” he said.