CLEAR Project awarded $384,320 grant

    The Clear Lake Enhancement and Restoration Project has been awarded a $384,320 grant from the Environmental Protection Commission. 
    The grant was one of six contracts with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Division of Soil Conservation announced Tuesday, Dec. 20, by the EPA.

    The funding for the Clear Lake Enhancement and Restoration Project will be used to work with watershed residents to switch to practices that reduce phosphorus and debris going into Clear Lake for the purpose of improving water clarity.  Funding will also partially pay for a watershed coordinator position and public outreach activities. This project is part of a larger effort to restore and enhance Clear Lake.
    The five watershed improvement projects and one water quality-farming education project approved by the EPA are funded by Section 319 of the Clean Water Act Amendments for nonpoint source management programs through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nonpoint sources of water pollution are usually caused by rain or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the water moves, it picks up and carries natural and human-made pollutants that end up in lakes, rivers, wetlands and ground waters.
     The projects were selected by grant proposals and a DNR committee review process. Each selected watershed project is part of a wider effort with other partners to work within an approved Watershed Management Plan.