Water Quality Commission

History
The Water Quality Commission (WQC) was established in 2001 to provide a steady funding source - using local money as a match to state and federal revenues - for water quality projects for lakes in Dickinson County. This one-of-a-kind organization in the state is comprised of 18 commissioners who represent the county and its ten municipalities. Among the many objectives of the WQC are: To bring a minimum of $3 in federal, state and private matching funds to every $1 administered by the WQC and provide an outlet for individuals and organizations in the Dickinson County communities that are looking for money to improve water quality.

In its first year of operation in 2001, the WQC had a pool of $100,000 to grant to water quality projects to improve lakes in Dickinson County. In each subsequent year, the WQC has administered $200,000 in water quality projects.

The 28- E agreement that created the WQC is in effect until 2009, and automatically renews for a two year period thereafter.

More information:
   WQC Handbook  
   DICKINSON COUNTY WATER QUALITY COMMISSION PROJECT PROPOSAL APPLICATION.

Accomplishments
The chart below illustrates the five year history of the C funding, the amount administrated each year by the organization and the amount of matching funds generated each year. In the original WQC proposal it was stated that the organization's funds would produce $3 in match money for every $1 in local money. With the exception of 2005, when the entire funding pool of $200,000 was not awarded, the WQC has done exactly what it was set up to do financially - to create a local match source for private, state and federal funds and match every dollar of local money with $3 of matching funds.

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	Total
Projects Funded	9	9	9	7	6	40
WQC Funds	$100,000	$200,000	$200,000	$137,732	$200,000	$837,732
Match Funds	$1,006,780	$1,263,220	$1,209,883	$328,145	$3,026,849	$6,834,977
Ratio WQC To Match Funds	10 to 1	6 to 1	6 to 1	2.4 to 1	15 to 1	8 to 1
Total	$1,106,780	$1,463,220	$1,409,883	$465,977	$3,226,849	$7,672,709

Water Monitoring
Water Monitoring is a key element in understanding the status of water quality and locating areas of concern in the watershed or within specific water bodies. Water monitoring is also a key element in establishing historical trends in water quality. The WQC has provided funds for these three programs involving water monitoring: 1. Iowa Lakeside Laboratory's CLAMP program - Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Program - the volunteer collection of water samples from Dickinson County lakes, has helped to create baseline data that helps illustrate trends in water quality; 2. The Spirit Lake school district's hand-held water monitoring probe systems that are placed in the water to collect data that is stored in Palm Pilots. Students produce data from statistical analysis to determine the water quality in the system they are studying, giving them a hands-on approach to water monitoring 3. The naturalist intern program - shared by the Friends of Lakeside Lab and the Dickinson County Conservation Board- incorporates the IOWATER monitoring program, a statewide initiative that collects data on streams, creeks, rivers and lakes. This is a volunteer program of collecting watershed data, giving us - along with CLAMP data - an overall picture of water quality in Dickinson County lakes.

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	Total
FILL	$34,550	$20,750	$8,149	$7,185		$70,634
Spirit Lake School	$1,993					$1,993
WQC Match	$16,382	$43,850	$68,223	$18,874		$147,329
Total	$52,925	$32,750	$76,372	$26,059		$188,106

Frequently Asked Questions