1. 1 Middle Cedar Partnership Project September 2015 Steve Hershner, Utilities Director Barb Wagner, Utilities Water Quality Specialist Mike Kuntz, Utilities Environmental Manager Tariq Baloch, Water Utility Plant Manager

2. 2 1.Benton/Tama Counties and Miller Creek Watershed Quality Initiative projects 2.Benton Soil and Water Conservation District (BSWCD) 3.Tama Soil and Water Conservation District (TSWCD) 4.Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District (BHSWCD) 5.Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 6.DuPont Pioneer (DP) 7.Sand County Foundation (SCF) 8.The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 9.Iowa Farm Bureau (IFB) 10.Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) 11.Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) 12.Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) 13.Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) 14.Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) 15.Iowa State University Extension Service (ISUES) 16.City of Cedar Rapids MCPP Partners Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP)

3. 3 Reasons for Collaboration / Engagement upstream I.Flooding a. City wide b. Industrial c. Water plant II.Nitrates

4. 4 Food Processing & Biotech are key industries for us 100,000+ bu/day of soybeans & 1,000,000 bu/day of corn are processed or used everyday in C.R. We need our industries to be successful and all of our water consumers to be safe Cedar River quality is important to us because it is a significant source of supply to our alluvial well system Vitally connected to our upstream watershed in many ways: economic resource, source water, and flood impacts

5. 5 June 13, 2008

6. 6 Flood Impact N 10 square miles

7. 7 Industrial Impact ADM ADM Drymill BioSpringer Cargill Cedar River Paper Genencor JRS Pharma Red Star Sunopta Penford Quaker Oats General Mills Cargill Cedar River Paper Genencor JRS Pharma Red Star Sunopta Penford Quaker Oats General Mills ADM/Drymill BioSpringer WPCF Water

8. 8 Industrial Impact

9. 9 Recommended Plan 4C PENFORD Industrial Impact

10. 10 Industrial Impact

11. 11 Water Infrastructure in Cedar Rapids -Two treatment plants, 60 MGD (million gallons per day) of production capacity -50 wells (5 collector, 45 vertical), 70+ MGD capacity -Approximately 670 miles of water main -10 year treatment facilities capital plan = $132M, distribution system = $ 72M, total 10-year CIP = $204M -C.R. does not have nitrate removal treatment options in place, and it is not currently part of the 10-year CIP 2016 Nitrate Treatment, Source Water Study ~$100k, need to establish budget estimates for treatment Water Impact

12. 12 Water Impact

13. 13 Water Impact

14. 14 Water Impact

15. Raw water highly influenced by river water quality Public notification at 10 mg/L Hach Nitratax Nitrate Monitoring

16. 16 Why are nitrates a key factor for Cedar Rapids and many other Public Water Supplies? -EPA has established a limit of 10 mg/l for nitrates, if exceeded a certain number of times you need to notify your customers immediately -Nitrates are a particular area of concern for young infants and for individuals with suppressed immune systems -Food processing industries, hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities (kidney dialysis) are concerned about drinking water safety if 10 mg/l nitrate limit is ever exceeded -Upstream Cedar River nitrate trend has been increasing

17. 17 Upstream Collaboration Goal: Establish connections and agreements with individual producers to enhance adoption of a variety of practices that will improve soil health, improve bankside and downstream water quality, potentially limit peak downstream flows, and enhance long-term economic viability of producers, recognizing the relationship to Cedar Rapids Industries How (1st step): Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP) a Regional Conservation Partnership Project awarded by the USDA-NRCS

18. 18 Working Together Improve Soil Health Improve Water Quality Reduce Water Quantity Expanding on a Good Thing Miller Creek WQI Benton/Tama Nutrient Reduction Demonstration Project MCPP Overview Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP)

19. 19 The City of Cedar Rapids is the lead partner and will be working with 15 other partners on five HUC 12 watersheds on the Cedar River between Vinton and Waterloo Iowa Soybean Association is a key partner on MCPP, they had already established a WQI project in this area that we were able to significantly expand the outreach, scope, and longevity of practice adoption to an additional 13,000+ acres in these watersheds

20. 20 The focus area of the Middle Cedar Partnership Project is five HUC 12 watersheds contained within the larger Middle Cedar HUC 8 watershed located in east central Iowa. HUC 12 NameHUC 12 IDHUC 12 Size Rock Creek-Cedar River7080205100124,365 acres Pratt Creek7080205110131,696 acres Wolf Creek7080205080936,220 acres Miller Creek7080205090519,324 acres Headwaters Miller Creek7080205090423,137 acres 234,742 total acre s

21. Benton/Tama Counties and Miller Creek Watershed Quality Initiative projects Benton Soil and Water Conservation District (BSWCD) Tama Soil and Water Conservation District (TSWCD) Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District (BHSWCD) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) DuPont Pioneer (DP) Sand County Foundation (SCF) The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Iowa Farm Bureau (IFB) Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Iowa State University Extension Service (ISUES) City of Cedar Rapids 21

22. 22 16 MCPP partners are contributing $2.3M in technical and financial assistance NRCS through RCPP is contributing an additional $2.0M of primarily financial and some technical assistance Total of $4.3M will be available over the next five years to the Middle Cedar Partnership Project

23. 23 Objective 1: Develop watershed plans to include monitoring and evaluation that will optimize effective Best Management Practice (BMP) placement Objective 2: Implement BMPs through financial and technical assistance to reduce nitrate loads and peak flow runoff to the Cedar River. Objective 3: Conduct outreach activities with landowners and producers in the five HUC 12 watersheds. MCPP Overview

24. Controlled Drainage Woodchip Bioreactors Wetlands Nitrogen Management lower application rate of N per acre move application time from Fall to SPRING Cover Crops turnips, winter wheat, other crops Crop Rotations BMP examples Practices on the land

25. Controlled Drainage Structure/ Wetland

27. Field Days 27

28. 28 Evaluating Results: Track adoption rates and the locations of best management practices to understand which practice type and installation location are best aligned with watershed plans and providing the maximum benefits to soil health, water quality, and water quantity Water quality models and tools to estimate the benefits resulting from best management practice implementation. Water quality monitoring to quantify best management practice results. Monitoring will be an important component of the project. Currently, both water quality initiative projects are conducting monitoring efforts including tile outlet monitoring MCPP Overview

29. 29 MCPP Overview Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP) Recent activity Stream assessment is in progress. Approximately 50% of stream miles have been visually inspected and points of concern/interest have been documented Two farmer advisory group meetings have been held. Input has been gathered from farmers concerning watershed goals, practices, timelines, etc. All information gathered will be used to develop the watershed plans Developed GIS database of land use, elevation, soils and other watershed characteristics Coordinator hired (Jason Gomes). Awaiting finalizing of contract between CR and ISA Review of conservation plan requirements has been conducted however no plans have been initiated to date, possibly two going forward from WQI

30. 30 What does future success look like? -Construction of nitrate treatment in Cedar Rapids is unnecessary for our Utilities Dept. – Water Division -With their adoption of practices in the MCPP project area, producers experience improved soil health leading to an improved bottom-line -Other producers independently adopt practices that work for their operations because it makes financial sense and it’s the right thing to do -Water quality improvements are demonstrated in each of these watersheds and downstream

31. 31 Citizens of Cedar Rapids involvement in Nutrient reduction goals Wastewater Infrastructure in Cedar Rapids -One treatment plant -Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (Point Source – Major) -Projected cost for nutrient treatment (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) ~$20M (current estimate, likely $25-30M by start of construction) -NPDES Permit Renewal January 2016 (1st Step – Study) -Nutrient Treatment Construction expected to begin in 2020 and be completed by 2022-2023 -Rate increases projected for all customer classes

32. 32 Middle Cedar Partnership Project July 22, 2015 Discussion / Comments?