January 15, 2019
The City of York and the Upper Big Blue Natural Resource District (NRD) are continuing collaboration, in conjunction with Project GROW, within the city’s wellhead protection area . . . and this next step will include unique, interesting offerings for residents by way of rain gardens, rain barrels, compost projects, water testing and more.
“This is a follow-up project in our wellhead protection plan,” explained York Public Works Director Mitch Doht. “This partnership between the city and the NRD is working really well and the funding we have available (through grant money) will allow us to do these projects which I think the residents of this community will be very interested in.”
In 2017, the city contracted with JEO Engineering to develop a Wellhead Protection Plan (WHP plan) keeping in mind the time of travel for each municipal well for 50 years. It was recognized that the next step is to work with the citizens and surrounding agricultural landowners and operators to educate them on the importance of best management practices to insure the groundwater quality in the wellfield.
As a result, the NRD partnered with the city in 2017 on a one-of-a-kind project on a portion of the city’s wellfield acres. Project GROW, “Growing Rotational Crops on Wellfields,” is a 5-year project on 160 acres of the city’s wellfield adjacent to the new ballpark complex. The project consists of three components: a soil health demonstration, community garden and pollinator habitat. Officials working with this project say the goals “are to maintain profitability while improving soil health, increasing awareness of the importance of pollinator habitat and providing a community garden for the citizens of York.”
