An effort to reduce soil nitrates from entering the Mississippi River continues to be the goal of the English River Watershed. Ryan Schlabaugh is the Chair of the Watershed Management Authority and said the English River Watershed Management Authority was formed in August of 2013 by the recommendation of the Iowa Flood Center. The watershed is comprised of 639 square miles of land in southeast Iowa, expanding from the eastern edge of Riverside along the Iowa River to the cooperate limits of Grinnell.

Schlabaugh said the main goal of the group was to come up with a plan to decrease soil erosion, to help with flood mitigation, and to meet the nutrient reduction strategy. Soil erosion is causing nitrates from farmland to enter the Mississippi River, affecting marine life in the Gulf of Mexico.

Funding from the Department of Natural Resources allowed the English River WMA to take a comprehensive look at the watershed and to engage land owners in discussions about soil erosion. A comprehensive plan for the watershed was agreed upon last December, outlining practices to reduce the nitrates from enter river channels in southeast Iowa over the course of the next seven years. Their action plan includes seven steps, ranging from educating residents about nutrient reduction strategies to targeting priority projects for the watershed. Currently, the WMA is working on the education phase of the plan.

An outline of the English River Watershed’s Resiliency & Improvement Plan can be found by visiting the website, englishriverwma.org.