Fall 2024 Newsletter
Navigating Drainage + Water Quality
Welcome to Rural Waters, ISG's e-newsletter dedicated to supporting rural drainage, lakes, streams, rivers, agriculture, and the environment.?
With a balanced approach, ISG designs surface water systems with current technology to mitigate flood damage, minimize maintenance costs, and enhance yields, efficiencies, and water quality—delivering multi-benefit solutions.
ISSUES FACING RURAL DRAINAGE
Midwestern Flooding of 2024
?In late June 2024, the upper Midwest experienced record rainfall following an already wet spring, leading to significant flooding across southern Minnesota, eastern South Dakota and northern Iowa. Rivers overflowed, roads like TH 14 near Janesville were submerged, dams failed, and lakes swelled, causing severe damage to?infrastructure such as bridges, culverts, drainage systems, and shorelines. The widespread destruction led to FEMA declaring disaster areas in over 50 counties across multiple states.
The flooding caused millions of dollars in damages, wiping out crops and impacting infrastructure. In response, ISG mobilized its water resources and environmental teams to support impacted communities. Drone flights were conducted across multiple counties to assess damage and identify priority areas. ISG coordinated with FEMA, developed cost estimates, and worked with landowners onsite to address and repair eroded and flooded areas. The team also used advanced techniques like televising tile systems to locate and document damage.?
DRAINAGE SOLUTIONS
Flood Flights: Documenting Damage Across Minnesota
Drone flights were conducted across multiple counties to assess damage and identify priority areas. The photos below are from Jackson County. ISG coordinated with FEMA, developed cost estimates, and worked with landowners onsite to address and repair eroded and flooded areas. The team also used advanced techniques like televising tile systems to locate and document damage.?
Preventative Measures In Action: Areas That Weathered the Storm | Martin County, MN?
Some preventative measures proved effective. Martin County Drainage Inspector Shane Fett highlighted that newly implemented storage and drainage projects helped minimize damage in some regions. These improvements reduced flooding, erosion, and the need for extensive repairs, demonstrating the value of proactive infrastructure solutions.?
Wetlands Work! Ruby Wetland Bank | Jackson, MN?
The Ruby Wetland Bank in Jackson County transformed 42 acres of drained agricultural land into three sustainable wetland basins. ISG provided land surveying services, including boundary and topographic surveys, construction staking, as-built verification, and easement descriptions, to support the restoration. Using this data, ISG’s water solutions team restored wetland hydrology by modifying the existing tile drainage system and guiding the landowner through the wetland bank permitting process, all while maintaining the downstream outlet to protect the County’s tile system.??
“I just did a tour of the wetland, all three basins here. Its working as you designed, from my family to yours thank you very much, you made it happen.”?
–Dan Ruby, Ruby Wetland Landowner after large flood events in June of 2024.
Public Waters Inventory Update
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is updating the Public Waters Inventory (PWI) to better classify and protect water resources. This rule change, part of an eight-year process, aims to reclassify some private waterways as public waters, which will require landowners to obtain permits for activities that could impact these areas, such as drainage or development projects.
While the goal is to improve water quality, protect wildlife habitats, and manage flood risks, the update has raised concerns among landowners, particularly farmers, about the potential restrictions on land use and the added regulatory requirements. The DNR has committed to engaging with stakeholders throughout this process to ensure transparency and provide guidance.??
LET'S CONNECT: UPCOMING CONFERENCES
November 5–8, 2024 | 2024 North America Lake Management Society
November 13–14, 2024 | 2024 Minnesota Association of Floodplain Managers (AFPM) Conference
December 2–4, 2024 | 2024 Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) Convention
December 4–6, 2024 | 2024 Minnesota Watersheds Annual Conference and Trade Show
December 9–11, 2024 | 2024 Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) Conference
January 21–23, 2025 | 2025 North America Conservation and Drainage Expo (NACADE)
CONFERENCE RECAPS
Eastern South Dakota Water Conference
National Agricultural Drainage Expert Chuck Brandel, PE, presented "Protecting Downstream Waters - Designing Drainage Systems with Wetlands and Storage", an innovative approach to drainage projects that balances landowner needs with environmental stewardship. He highlighted the integration of large wetland and storage practices as a way to mitigate land use impacts while enhancing water quality. Chuck also addressed the challenges facing drainage project implementation in Minnesota, including opposition from environmental groups, complex grant processes, and the exclusion of water quality as a benefit in cost/benefit analyses.
“Finding the balance between agricultural productivity and environmental stewardship is crucial for sustainable development. By working closely with committed landowners and farmers, and leveraging collaborative partnerships, we can scale effective solutions that improve water quality and reduce flood risks across Minnesota.”
–Chuck Brandel, PE?
Minnesota Water Resources Conference
The Minnesota Water Resources Conference brought together public officials, water resource experts, and landowners from across the State to share innovative solutions to Minnesota's agricultural and water quality challenges. Two of ISG's water resources leaders attended and presented on October 15.
Spencer Pech, PE (ISG Civil Engineer) presented on Agricultural Drainage Water Recycling (DWR), highlighting its potential to increase climate resilience and reduce nutrient loss in crop production. Attendees learned about current DWR sites, water and yield data, and future implementation opportunities throughout the Midwest.??
Julie Blackburn, CFM?(ISG Water Business Unit Leader) discussed best management practices for agricultural drainage projects, featuring a case study of Martin County Ditch No. 28. Her presentation detailed the transformation of an outdated drainage system into a nutrient treatment train that safeguards the City of Fairmont’s drinking water.
Stay tuned for ISG's upcoming initiative on drainage solutions and watershed restoration and how you can get involved!
FUNDING + GRANT UPDATES
ISG's funding specialists excel in securing grants, having obtained over?$49 million?in grants while leveraging over $102 million in public and private funding across the Midwest. Our understanding of requirements and connections with local, state, and federal agencies ensure strategic and planned grant application submittals that meet schedules, criteria, and boost acceptance rates. Continuously updated on federal and state funding, our team navigates evolving programs, guiding clients toward optimal opportunities. With a focus on legislative awareness, we maximize funding, leveraging every available dollar for impactful projects.
Check here for upcoming funding opportunities, success stories, and resources on navigating the complexities of grant applications for your drainage and water quality initiatives.?
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) + Homeland Security + Emergency Management (HSEM)?| Disaster Funds
Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) | Clean Water Funds
Impact Day Q+A: ISG's Water Team Makes an Impact at Ney Nature Center
Jen Widmer, PE | Water Resources Engineer
Q:?What is Impact Day??
A:??Every year, ISG gives every employee eight paid Impact Day hours to volunteer in their community. For many of ISG's Water Resources and Environmental team members, their Impact Day was at the Ney Nature Center in Henderson, Minnesota, on October 11, 2024.
Q:?How many people volunteered??
A:?We had 15 volunteers from ISG. Most of us are from ISG's Mankato office.?
Q: Who else was involved??
A: We worked with the Ney Nature Center executive director, Becky Pollack, and their AmeriCorps Climate Impact Project Coordinator, Madi Kes.
Q: How did you learn about this opportunity?
A: I serve on the Ney Nature Center board of directors and chair their Site Preservation and Restoration Committee. I knew that thinning out the woodlots was an ongoing, largescale, and labor-intensive project that needed volunteers. A lot of volunteers signed up to help because they’re interested in natural resource conservation. Others signed up to enjoy a few hours of hard work outdoors and to take a break from their desk jobs.
Q: What did the volunteers do?
A: We cut down smaller, unhealthy, less desirable species of trees out of a woodland plot that the nature center seeded years ago. Removing these trees reduces competition for the healthier and more desirable trees so they can grow larger, straighter, and faster. We removed a number of ash, buckthorn, and cedar trees. We also transported the cut trees to a burn pile. We thinned about half an acre of trees with hand tools.
Q: What was the impact???
A: We thinned a large patch of woodland in a high traffic area to help showcase the project to Ney visitors. We also removed ash trees to reduce the impact of emerald ash borer to the site and removed invasive buckthorn.
ISG's Environmental staff also helped tag additional, larger ash trees to be removed in the future and suggested species and seed mixes to be planted in the understory to help prevent the future growth of invasive buckthorn and honeysuckle. The seeding will also promote better habitat for wildlife.
This project will help create a healthier forest for decades to come. Ney staff were very happy and excited about the quality, extent, and end-result of our impact day.?I got a lot of positive feedback from the volunteers and this will hopefully become an annual Impact Day opportunity for ISG!?