Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority's Stewardship and Lands Manager Presents Huron Clean Water Project Annual Report to County Council
by Bob Montgomery
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority's Stewardship and Lands Manager presented the Huron Clean Water Project annual report to County Council at their last meeting.
Nathan Schoelier says the Clean Water Project was launched in 2004 with the first projects completed the following year. It's a voluntary program that provides funding and technical assistance for Best Management Practices for farmers and non-farm rural and urban landowners. The funding is provided by the County of Huron, various agencies, conservation authorities and local landowners and delivered by Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Valley Conservation Authorities.
Schoelier says farmers in Huron County really appreciate the program but adds at the end of the day they're the ones that make the program so successful because they're the ones that put the programs on the ground to protect and improve water quality. “Many of the projects really focus on preventing soil loss and nutrient loss so they're able to keep nutrients and sediments out of the water courses and on the landscape. Other projects are also able to improve flooding attenuation as well as infiltration so we can manage the water downstream as well.”
Schoelier adds, the Huron Clean Water project's local investment goes a long way because they're able to match the local dollars with external partner's dollars, whether it's provincial or Federal funding and that can sometimes cover the entire cost of the project. He says it also brings funds into the county that might not otherwise happen without the local investment. 281 new projects were reviewed in 2023, 277 applications were approved and four were denied. The total value of all projects approved was $1,245,000.
Schoelier says they encourage anyone interested in a Huron Clean Water Project, from tree planting or cover crops to wetlands, erosion control or any other project they're considering to call them and find out how they can help through the Clean Water program either with funding or technical advice and implementation.
