Implementation

The Big Sioux River watershed drains several counties in Southeastern South Dakota and also some in Southwestern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa (See
Figure 1). Do you live in the Big Sioux River watershed? In South Dakota, all or parts of the following counties drain into the Big Sioux River: Roberts,
Marshall, Day, Codington, Clark, Hamlin, Deuel, Brookings, Kingsbury, Moody, Lake, Minnehaha, Lincoln, and Union. The Big Sioux River begins in Summit, SD
then flows through the towns of Watertown, Brookings, Flandreau, Dell Rapids, and Sioux Falls before emptying into the Missouri River in Sioux City, Iowa.

Figure 1. The portion of the Big Sioux River in South Dakota within the Big Sioux River Watershed Project.

Several smaller streams feed the Big Sioux River as it winds down Southeastern South Dakota. These smaller streams collect runoff from surrounding farmland
and towns. What about lakes? Lakes are also an important part of the Big Sioux River watershed. Some lakes serve as a place for water to drain to when the
Big Sioux River has over flown its banks, which helps to save homes downstream from flooding. Major lakes in the Big Sioux River watershed include Lake
Kampeska, Lake Pelican, Lake Poinsett, Lake Campbell, Lake Madison, and Wall Lake.

Did you know that many cities along the Big Sioux River use surface or shallow groundwater from the river for drinking purposes. Currently, Sioux Falls is the
only city to use surface water for drinking water (roughly two-thirds of their supply), while the other one-third of their drinking water comes from shallow
groundwater which is hydraulically connected to the Big Sioux River. Other cities and rural water corporations along the Big Sioux also use shallow
groundwater wells which are connected to the Big Sioux for a drinking water source. This means that even though you may reside in rural Moody County, if
you eat at a restaurant in Sioux Falls, the water used to make ice for your drink was gotten from the Big Sioux River watershed. This is why it is very
important for us to think about what comes in contact with water as it travels down the Big Sioux River. Remember, water in the Big Sioux River empties
into the Missouri River and then into the Mississippi River. This means that people downstream of you are using the water that you may have affected. Many
cities downstream of us use the Mississippi River for drinking water also.

As of today, portions of the Big Sioux River Watershed between Watertown and Brandon have been identified as unsuitable for fish life propagation,
fishing/boating, and/or swimming. The water quality assessment studies completed by our office detail the exact impairments and what the causes of these
impairments are.

As a result of the findings in the water quality assessments of the Big Sioux River Watershed, EDWDD has received federal funding to reduce sediment and
bacterial loadings into the watershed. The Big Sioux River Watershed Project was designed to reduce non-point source pollution from within the watershed
to improve the quality of water in the Big Sioux. By improving animal waste management facilities and returning riparian buffers back to a natural state, we
feel that the water quality in the Big Sioux River will improve, resulting in a resource that everyone can enjoy.

EDWDD is the recipient of $1,618,078 in US EPA 319 grant funds to reduce total suspended solid and fecal coliform bacteria loadings into the Big Sioux River
Watershed between Watertown and Brandon (includes several major tributaries). These grant funds are being used to install waste management systems at
animal feeding operations and to restore riparian buffers along stream banks.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 marks the closing of the first permanent conservation easements along the Big Sioux River. Two brothers near Estelline, SD have
agreed to eliminate livestock grazing and/or crop production within the easement buffer area in perpetuity. The Big Sioux River Conservation Easement
program has also acquired a 28 acres buffer strip on the Big Sioux River near Bruce, SD and 14 acres of buffer strip along Willow Creek in Codington County
under the 30-year program. A perpetual conservation easement was recently granted on 36.5 acres of buffer strip along the Big Sioux River near Castlewood,
SD.

Big Sioux River Watershed Project Cooperator Stories