A watershed management plan that has a lot of input from local farmers is the goal of Marius Agua, newly hired coordinator of the North Raccoon Watershed Coalition.
Mark Hanson, a four-term Dallas County supervisor and chair of the coalition, and Bret Wilkinson, Buena Vista County engineer, introduced Agua to the county supervisors Monday.
Greene County is a member of the North Raccoon Watershed along with Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Sac, Calhoun, Webster, Carroll, Boone, Dallas and Polk counties. The soil and water conservation districts in those counties are also members. Buena Vista County is fiscal agent for the coalition and Agua is “on the books” as a BV County employee.
The watershed approved by-laws in September. Initial funding is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through Buena Vista County.
Chuck Wenthold represents Greene County on the watershed board. Fred Long represents the Greene soil and water conservation district. Fifteen cities are also members. Jefferson could be a member but isn’t at this time.
Initial projects of the watershed will be done in Buena Vista County, “but anything we do in Buena Vista or Pocahontas, sure enough, water will flow down to Calhoun and Greene Counties,” Agua said.
Agua has a bachelor of science in agricultural engineering. He has advanced study in soil science and water management in the Netherlands and has studied at Iowa State University.
