(Spirit Lake)– Officials say there’s a new incentive to help homeowners in the Iowa Great Lakes, Little Swan Lake and Silver Lake Watersheds improve their lawns while also improving water quality. John Wills of the Dickinson Soil and Water Conservation District and the Iowa Great Lakes Watershed Project tells KUOO news they are taking applications now through June 25th for grants through their Soil Quality Restoration Program. He says the grants will be up to $1,500 to the first 50 people to apply…
“I will take a look at each one and gauge each property on an individual basis to see if they qualify, and then if they do qualify we would work with the contractor. Around the August, September timeframe the soil quality restoration would be complete. That would consist of a deep tined aeration of the lawn and then putting compost over the top of the lawn and then overseeding grass seed into that. So that’s basically it.”
Wills adds the goal of the program is to help keep nutrients out of the lakes…
“Each percent of organic matter that you build up in your soil can hold an inch of rain in a 24 hour period. If we’re holding that rain on the lawns then it’s not running off into the lake with pollutants like phosphorous, sediment, and that sort of thing. So that’s the goal. However, it is really good for the lawn, too. Lawns tend to not to need to be watered as much. They don’t need to be fertilized as much when you’ve got organic matter in the soil, so it’s kind of a win-win situation. It’s a win for the property owner, it’s a win for the lakes and then it’s a win for the people that use the lakes as well.”
