Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District (USA)

Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District

The Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) was formed in 1945, in response to the ‘Dust Bowl’ of the 1930s.  During the 1930s, intensive farming during drought allowed high winds to erode the landscape and carry clouds of dust from the Great Plains all the way to Washington, D.C.  Black Hawk SWCD joined with the other 99 districts that were created across the state of Iowa to encourage landowners and operators to alter their farming techniques to use water resources more wisely and substantially improve soil health. Over the years, soil and water conservation districts expanded their focus beyond agriculture to assist in the urban areas of their communities. 

In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation supports the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project, which began in 2005 to address two water quality impairments (stream biology and bacteria). Since then, the project has partnered with local residents, businesses, farmers, educational institutions, the City of Cedar Falls, and the SWCD to implement conservation practices beneficial to the stream, to educate residents on the role they play in clean water, and to support community organisations with local water quality efforts. Over the last 17 years, this has resulted in over 230 conservation practices infiltrating over 85 million gallons of storm water annually rather than running off through storm drains. Another essential component of the project is water monitoring to track progress in reaching conservation goals and the measurable impacts they are having on the community. For the last seven years, this has been accomplished through a partnership with the local University of Northern Iowa, utilising professors, students, and their laboratories to analyse samples for various water quality parameters. Most of this work is done as an in-kind by the university and without cost to the Black Hawk SWCD. 

This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals