Huron Expositor, 2017-04-19, Page 1010 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Huron County continues to support landowner work to protect water
Landowners, community groups
Ar have completed more than 2,236
water -quality projects with support
of Huron Clean Water Project
Landowners, residents,
and community groups in
Iluron County can complete
projects to protect their local
creeks and rivers, and Lake
Huron, with grant support
from the Iluron County
Clean Water Project.
The County of Huron
announced it will provide
$400,000 in funding support
this year for projects in
Huron County that project
local water quality. County
landowners, residents and
community groups have
completed more than 2,236
projects since 2004 thanks to
county support through this
initiative.
The Huron County Clean
Water Project provides up to
50 per cent grant support for
projects in categories that
include: erosion control; tree
planting; cover crops;
manure storage decommis-
sioning; wetlands; water-
course fencing; well decom-
missioning; wellhead
protection; composting
toilets; forest management
plans; and woodlot
enhancement. Funding from
the county program can be
combined with other cost -
share programs and land-
owner contributions.
Keeping soil on farm fields
and out of drains, rivers, and
the lake is a major part of the
program through grants for
berms, cover crops, and tree
planting. The program has
cost -shared nearly 200 ero-
sion control projects over the
years to keep soil on the
fields and out of drains,
creeks, rivers, and Lake
Huron. Berms and inlets are
designed to collect runoff
during rainfall events and
release it over a 24-hour
period. This reduces erosion
further downhill and allows
sediment to settle out in the
basin behind the berm.
Some agricultural produc-
ers tried out cover crops for
the first time with the sup-
port of the Huron Clean
Water Project. Some were
traditional cover -crop mixes
but the cash incentive allows
people to try some new
multi -species mixes. Cover
crops can help to reduce soil
erosion that occurs when
_there are no crops actively
growing on the fields but
cover crops also build soil
organic matter, improve soil
structure, and increase infil-
tration which reduces sur-
face runoff and promote
nitrogen fixation. The county
project provides $10 per acre
as an incentive up to a maxi-
mum of 100 acres. Plantings
must include at least three
species and residue must
remain on the surface until
the spring.
The program has helped
with more than 800 projects
to protect groundwater by
providing grants to decom-
mission unused wells or
upgrading the casing on
existing wells.
The Huron Clean Water
Project is funded by the
-County of Huron. Service
delivery is provided by the
Maitland Valley and Ausable
Bayfield conservation
authorities. Landowners
may call by phone to apply.
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About the Huron County
Clean Water Project:
The Huron County Clean
Water Project is celebrating
more than 10 years of pro-
viding grants which have
helped county residents,
landowners, and commu-
nity groups to do more than
2,236 projects to improve
water quality. Grants from
the County of Huron,
through the Huron Clean
Water Project, have helped
residents to plant more than
700 acres of trees; complete
643 tree planting projects;
fence cattle out of more
than 20 kilometres of
streams; plant more than
150 kilometres of wind-
breaks; have 91 liquid
manure storages decom-
missioned; complete at least
45 forest management
plans; upgrade 364 private
wells; complete 186 erosion
control projects; and
decommission 499 unused
wells. The County of Huron
provides funds for the
Huron Clean Water Project
and the Maitland Valley and
Ausable Bayfield conserva-
tion authorities provide ser-
vice delivery for residents.
People in Huron County
have completed water qual-
ity projects valued at almost
S9.1 million with about one
quarter of that corning from
Huron Clean Water Project
grants. Ben Van Diepenbeek
is chairman of the project
review committee. He said
the success has been possi-
ble because county council
and ratepayers have shown
their support for water qual-
ity, because the two conser-
vation authorities have been
able to work closely with res-
idents to make it easy to
apply for and complete pro-
jects, and because individual
farmers, rural landowners,
and community groups have
shown their commitment by
completing projects. "For
every dollar invested by the
county, another three and a
half dollars' worth of work
gets done thanks to the addi-
tional contributions of land-
owners and other funding
programs," he said.
People in Huron County
have completed water qual-
ity projects valued at almost
S9 million with about one
quarter of that coming from
Huron County Clean Water
Project grants.
The ratio of total reported
value to grants paid is more
than 3.5 to 1 - that means for
every dollar the County of
Huron has invested an addi-
tional $3.50 or more has
been spent on environmen-
tal projects thanks to contri-
butions from landowners
and other sources (for exam-
ple, other funding
programs).
Conservation authority
delivery staff complete the
paperwork required and this
makes things easy for land-
owners to take part.
All landowners in Huron
County are eligible to apply
for grants through Huron
County Clean Water Project.
No pre -qualification work-
shops
orkshops or courses are
required to submit an appli-
cation and receive a grant
payment.
Funding to landowners
can sometimes be combined
with other cost -share pro-
grams, when other programs
are available.
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