What is water quality and why is it important?
Here at the Paulding Soil and Water Conservation District, our mission, in part, is to protect water quality. We recognize that everything we do here in our county affects the quality of water and the health and well-being of everyone and everything down stream from us- all the way to Lake Erie. Excess nutrients feed harmful algae blooms and lead to toxic water that suffocates fish, eliminates water recreation and leads to warnings not to drink the water, costing millions in lost revenue and even more for cleanup. The best thing to do is to eliminate, or reduce, the pollution at the source.
The Paulding SWCD office helps farmers and land owners learn, understand, and implement Best Management Practices (BMP) to help improve water quality and reduce input costs, while improving yields and soil health. Some of these practices include soil testing, or testing to see what nutrients and how much already exist in the soil and what additional applications are actually needed for optimal production. Doing so will keep excess fertilizers that the plants are not readily able to absorb, out of water ways during large rain events.
The practice of cover crops, helps keep top soil in place, along with it nutrients, while preventing erosion. Cover crops also work to feed and aerate the soil, naturally. Wetlands in otherwise unproductive farmland, drainage control structures, grassed waterways, and buffer strips all help to improve water quality. These practices are all excellent strategies to help clean our water clean and healthy for future generations. If you are interested in learning more about what we do or any assistance programs to help implement some of these practices, please contact us at the Soil and Water Office, at 419-399-4771.