INVESTING CHECKOFF DOLLARS
Nick Meier
NATIONAL ACCOLADES C E DA R RA P I DS R E C E I V E S U. S . WAT E R P R I Z E BY CAROL BROWN
T
he U.S. Water Alliance presented dedication to the project. the 2019 U.S. Water Prize to the “Steve likes soil health, which can’t City of Cedar Rapids for its leadership be said of many utility directors,” says in water quality improvement. Radhika Fox, CEO of the U.S. Water It was one Alliance, while of six recipients presenting the award. recognized at the The Middle annual One Water Cedar Summit held in Partnership Austin, Texas, in Project September. The Middle Cedar “I believe there Partnership Project Roger Wolf & Steve Hershner is no higher honor connects the City than the U.S. of Cedar Rapids Water Prize,” says and the water utility with upstream Steve Hershner, Cedar Rapids Utilities farmers and landowners. The goal is to Director, during his acceptance speech. increase farming conservation practices “One Water ties our community’s that reduce nitrogen and phosphorus industry and agriculture together. This loss to the Cedar River. With more is truly an Iowa award.” conservation practices in place The city has been the leader upstream, water quality will improve for the Middle Cedar Partnership downstream as it reaches the residents Project (MCPP) and Hershner was acknowledged at the ceremony for his of Cedar Rapids.
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The MCPP helps incentivize the use of cover crops, installations of bioreactors and saturated buffers as well as targeted nutrient management, all of which reduce nutrients entering rivers and streams. As part of the MCPP, the city helps guide watershed improvement plans and informs farmers and other stakeholders on the need for holistic water management. “Cedar Rapids is being very proactive about helping farmers upstream,” says Nick Meier, who farms near LaPorte City. “The city has been very supportive of us farmers. We need more cities like Cedar Rapids to work together with us for cleaner water.” Meier is on the advisory board for the Miller Creek Watershed Quality Improvement Project, a sub-watershed in the Middle Cedar. He’s been able to add cover crops to all his acres because of the funding incentives of the project.
