R2018-20 Authorizing an Agreement with the Agricultural Watershed Institute Lake Decatur Watershed Conservation Services

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AGREEMENT WHEREAS, the City of Decatur, Illinois (City) desires to cooperate with The Agricultural Watershed Institute (AWI), to encourage, promote and establish good soil and water conservation practices in the Lake Decatur Watershed area in order to keep the soil on the land and reduce fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide runoff into Lake Decatur. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS AGREED by and between the AWI and the City as follows: The term of this Agreement is for twelve (12) months, commencing January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2018. 1. If the City desires to continue these conservation efforts beyond the time period of this Agreement, the City and AWI will develop a proposed work program. The AWI will then submit a budget for this work program to the City for initial review no later than September 30th of the year preceding the termination of this Agreement. 2. The City will pay to the AWI up to $62,500 annually during the duration of this Agreement for the following services: A. Sediment and nutrient Best Management Practices (BMPs): AWI will identify and develop strategies for reducing sediment and nutrient loads in the Lake Decatur watershed. AWI staff will provide technical assistance to landowners, agricultural producers, and other stakeholders to implement BMPs. In consultation with the City and subject matter experts, AWI will continue to participate in research and outreach efforts for sediment and nutrient reduction. In particular, AWI will continue to work on strategies for nutrient and sediment reduction identified in the 2014 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation plans developed for the Big Creek/Long Creek and Big Ditch subwatersheds and approved by Illinois EPA. AWI will continue to collaborate with Macon County SWCD and other partners to implement the multi- year USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project. Specific innovative practices included in the RCPP project include bioreactors, drainage water management, and saturated buffers. Prairie Strips are a new BMP developed by Iowa State University researchers. Converting 10% of a crop field to contour or edge-of-field strips of diverse perennial vegetation has been shown to reduce phosphorus and sediment lost through runoff by 90% and 95%, respectively. Prairie Strips have been gaining acceptance by Iowa farmers but have not yet been widely promoted in Illinois. During 2018, AWI will conduct outreach and education and will seek to recruit cooperating landowners to introduce this new practice in the Lake Decatur watershed. If there is sufficient interest by farmers and landowners, AWI will apply for grant funding from [EPA or other sources for on-farm demonstrations of contour or edge-of-field Prairie Strips. B. Water resources planning and management: AWI will promote city-farm- industry dialogue and cooperation for water resource management, especially Lake 1