The City of Decatur is the recipient of a $9.8-million-dollar U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant focused on improving water quality in key areas across the Lake Decatur watershed. The 5-year program provides substantial cost-share and technical assistance to landowners and growers for certain practices aimed at reducing sediment and nutrient losses to the lake.
The City of Decatur wants to protect our recent $92-million-dollar dredging effort that reclaimed 30% of the lake’s volume and significantly improved the City’s drinking water supply. This effort removed 10,789,200 tons of sediment, equivalent to 60 Willis Towers in Chicago, Illinois.
Based on recent sediment monitoring and dredging costs, it is estimated that up to $1.2 million worth of sediment enters the lake annually. Periodic spikes in lake nitrogen concentrations also cost the City and rate payer $200,000 each year to treat. The RCPP aims to address these challenges.
To apply to the grant, please click the link below, which will take you to an online form to help facilitate your application. The application may take you between 10 and 30 minutes to complete. Please note that you cannot save your progress and return later.
You will want to download and prepare a copy of this template spreadsheet ahead of time. It's not mandatory, but it helps us process your application in an efficient way.