Habitat and clean water -- they go together

At least 70 acres around the Remsen well field will be transformed in to native habitat starting this spring. The center block on the map is the well field, and to the left is the city's recently purchased acres to turn to habitat. To the right is another 21 acres that may also be purchased. [Click to enlarge]

The city of Remsen and the Remsen municipal utilities are working with the local chapter of Pheasants Forever to turn 70 or more acres of land north of Remsen into habitat.

The city is taking this unusual approach to helping keep Remsen's water supply pure.

The land in question includes Remsen's well field north of town plus about 35 acres the city recently purchased. That land includes some of the underground watershed surrounding the well field.

Planting native grasses on the land and taking it out of crop production will help limit the amount of nitrates seeping into the water supply and keep the supply cleaner, explained Steve Pick, the Remsen utilities operations director.

"We're working closely with the Iowa DNR, Sioux Rivers RCND, Plymouth County and the USDA on this project to head off our high nitrate problem before it gets to a point where something drastically needs to be done," Pick said.

The water that Remsen residents receive has about 5-6 parts per million of nitrates, he said. The maximum level is ten.

If a community reaches that maximum, a nitrate removal system might have to be installed, Pick said.

Changing land near the well field to habitat, Pick added, is the "cheapest route we see in this to reduce our nitrate level."

The total size of the land to be turned over to habitat is yet to be decided.

The planners are still waiting to hear back whether they will receive a grant to buy 21 acres to the east of the well field.

Changing that land to habitat could decrease the flow of nitrate's to Remsen's well No. 8, which currently has Remsen's highest level of nitrates, Pick said.

"If we would take Well 8 out of commission, it would just filter into our other well fields," he explained.

Mike Slota, a member of Plymouth County's chapter of the Pheasants Forever, said this project fits the club's mission "to a T."

"Part of Pheasants Forever's mission statement is to enhance pheasant and wildlife population plus habitat restoration through improvement to the land and water conservation," Slota said. "We'll enhance the habitat, of course, but we'll also clean up the groundwater."

The habitat will be open to the public, but not for hunting.

Slota said it could also be used for students.

"It'll be a 70 acre classroom," he said. "One of the programs I'd like to see it used for is to have the high school biology teachers take it over and do water samples every month. That way they can track and see how this is actually cleaning up the water."

Pick agreed.

"There could be endless possibilities of what we can do with is as far as a nature preserve," he said.

Slota even threw out the possibility of planting wildflowers along the road where it runs by the habitat.

"It benefits everyone," Slota said of creating the habitat. "Remsen will have cleaner water. We'll be able to use it for classroom. Plus if there's any activity we want to use it for down the road, it will be available."

The city takes possession of the recently purchased land March 1. They won't hear back about the 21 additional acres until March as to whether their grant application to the Water Improvement Review Board was approved.

Pheasants Forever will begin planting the native grasses for habitat this spring.

"Whenever Pheasants Forever can work it out, it will be available to them," Pick said of the land.

"It'll be winter cover, nesting cover, and some other tall grasses," Slota said. "We'll probably put some food plots in there, too."

In Remsen's current well field, some alfalfa will be taken down and reseeded with native grasses.

Slota also hopes to put in some dogwood along the Deep Creek that runs through the land to catch the snow.

The Pheasants Forever local youth council will also help with the project to gain experience, he said.

The impact on Remsen's water supply wouldn't be immediate, Pick said.

"We're looking at probably a year or so before we would really see some results," he said.

"I have no doubt you're going to notice the difference in five years," Pick said. "As a hunter, when you see buffer strips upstream, you see how clean that water is. Buffer strips clean up water."