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Samples of Practices Funded

Agreement Process

Providing funds to help improve the watershed ...

When funds are available, the Hillsdale Water Quality Project provides funds to help landowners install practices that may help reduce the amount of pollutants entering Hillsdale Lake. Currently, no funding is alloted for these expenditures. The Project does have contacts and resources to guide interested parties to agencies who do have assistance and funding for various practices.

The policies for securing these funds include:

  • Financial aid will only be provided for implementing demonstration projects.
  • The maximum amount of aid will not surpass 70 percent of the project’s actual cost. If another agency or organization provides cost share funds, the combined amount of outside assistance cannot exceed 90 percent of the combined cost.
  • Assistance can be secured for urban and agricultural practices that have been identified as being beneficial to the watershed.
  • Aid will not be provided for permit-mandated practices.
  • Applications for aid must be received two weeks prior to the board’s next meeting. If an application is not received two weeks prior to the meeting, consideration of the application will be carried over to the next month’s agenda. Applicants will be notified of the board’s decision within two weeks of the meeting.
  • Each application will be evaluated and rated individually. A minimum point rating has been established, however, the board may consider extenuating circumstances.
  • Board members may limit the amount of funds allocated to a project in order to achieve diversity among the types of practices funded.
  • Alternative septic systems will only be approved if the Project receives a letter from a county sanitarian stating that they support the alternative system as a way to illustrate the type of system’s effectiveness.

Samples of practices previously funded

Through June of 1998, the project has helped coordinate the installation of more than $1 million worth of pollution control practices. The watershed’s district conservationists play a major role in identifying sites. These projects have included:

  • 10 acres of grass buffer strips
  • 113 acres of waterways
  • 13 grade stabilization structures
  • 17 septic system upgrades
  • 2 dump site clean ups
  • 3 abandoned well pluggings
  • 3 wetlands
  • 336,240 linear feet of terraces
  • 5 livestock waste systems
  • 586 acres of seeding cropland to grass

If you have a similar practice you would like to implement, please call the office. Sites for related demonstration practices are also being sought.

The Project’s volunteers have contributed more than 15,000 hours of their personal time valued at almost $250,000. In addition to serving on the board of directors, volunteers oversee three committees. These groups review resource concerns, identify alternative solutions, establish goals and promote the implementation of pollution control practices. Volunteers also assist on a less formal basis with office duties and presentations. Persons willing to offer their assistance should contact the Project office at (913) 829-9414.