Buffers, bioreactors are edge-of-field ways to ensure clean water

     Everyone wants safe drinking water, and private landowners and farm operators are working toward that goal.

     Saturated buffers and denitrifying bioreactors are two common edge-of-field practices used in Iowa to remove sediment, phosphorus, and pesticides before they enter our streams and rivers.

     A saturated buffer is a subsurface, perforated distribution pipe used to divert and spread drainage system discharge to a vegetated area to increase soil saturation. A denitrifying bioreactor is a structure that uses a carbon source (most often woodchips) to reduce the concentration of nitrates in subsurface agricultural drainage flow via enhanced denitrification.

     Through a partnership with Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), and USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), there is very little out-of-pocket cost to the landowner. The soils and topography must be suitable for both practices.  Landowners who have CRP filter strips are ideal candidates for both practices.

     To learn more about both practices and other conservation opportunities to improve water quality and soil health, contact the Jones Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) or Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at 319-462-3196, ext. 3.