Sedgwick County Conservation District
State Water Resource Cost-Share Program

This program provides financial incentives to landowners for the establishment of conservation practices to reduce soil erosion, improve or protect water quality, and enhance water supplies.  The Sedgwick County Conservation District, using State funds, currently reimburses landowners 65% of the county’s average cost for that particular type of work.  The total amount paid to a landowner cannot exceed $4,500 per year.  Certain areas of Sedgwick County have been designated as high priority areas, which means they have been identified as being impaired by contamination.  Most funds currently are spent in these high priority areas.

In order to obtain cost-share funds, best management practices must be implemented.  Staff will assist with establishing these practices.

The following is a complete listing of practices that are eligible for cost-share funding:

• Contour buffer strip – Strips of perennial vegetation alternated with wider cultivated strips that are farmed on the contour.
• Critical area planting – Planting vegetation such as trees, vines, grasses, or legumes on highly erodible or critically eroding areas.
• Diversion – A channel constructed across the slope with a supporting ridge on the lower side.
• Fencing – Enclosing or dividing an area of land with a suitable permanent structure that acts as a barrier to livestock, big game or people (does not include temporary fences).  Certain restrictions apply.
• Field border – Establishing a border or strip of perennial vegetation at or around the edge of a field by planting herbaceous vegetation.
• Filterstrip – A strip or area of vegetation for removing sediment, organic matter, and other pollutants from runoff and waste water.
• Grade stabilization structures – Structures to control the grade and head cutting in natural or artificial channels.
• Livestock trough or tank – A trough, tank, or waterer with needed devices installed to provide drinking water for livestock.
• Mulching – Applying fabric weed barrier to the soil surface.
• Pasture and hayland planting – Establishing and re-establishing long-term stands of adapted species of perennial or reseeding forage plants.  (Includes pasture and hayland renovation.)
• Pipeline – Installed for conveying water for livestock.
• Ponds (must be bonafied ag units of  40 acres or more for livestock use only) – A water impoundment made by constructing a dam, embankment, or by excavating a pit or dugout.  Certain restrictions apply.
• Pumping plant – Includes solar, electric, and windmill.  Applicable when livestock has been fenced off from a stream and an alternate water source is established.
• Range seeding – Establishment of adapted perennial vegetation such as grasses, forbs, and legumes.
• Riparian forest buffer – An area of trees and shrubs located adjacent to streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands.
• Spring development – Improving springs and seeps by excavating, cleaning and providing collection and storage facilities.
• Terraces – An earth embankment, a channel, or a combination ridge and channel constructed across the slope.
• Tree/shrub establishment – To set tree seedlings or cuttings in the soil.
• Underground outlet – A conduit installed beneath the surface of the ground to collect surface water and convey to a suitable outlet.
• Water and sediment control basin – A short earth embankment or a combination ridge and channel generally constructed across the slope and minor watercourses to form a silt or sediment basin.
• Waterways – A natural or constructed waterway or outlet shaped or graded and established in vegetation, as needed, for the safe disposal of runoff from a field, diversion, terrace, or other structure.
• Well – A well constructed or improved to provide water for livestock.
• Wetland creation – A wetland that has been created on a site location which historically was not a wetland or is a wetland but the site will be converted to a wetland with a different hydrology, vegetation type, or function than naturally occurred on the site.
• Wetland enhancement – The modification or rehabilitation of an existing or degraded wetland, where specific functions and/or values are modified for the purpose of meeting specific project objectives.
• Wetland restoration – A rehabilitation of a drained or degraded wetland where the soils, hydrology, vegetative community, and biological habitat are returned to the natural condition to the extent practicable.
• Windbreaks/Shelterbelt Establishment – A shelter to diffuse and deflect winds away from livestock.  Certain restrictions apply.

Additional funds are also available for some irrigation practices designed to conserve water.  These include:

• Low-impact efficiency nozzles – Nozzles, drops, and components installed in a new or existing sprinkler irrigation system to accommodate the installation of low energy precision application nozzle systems or low-pressure spray nozzles.
• Tailwater recovery – A facility to collect, store, and transport irrigation tailwater for reuse in the farm irrigation distribution system.
• Trickle systems – A planned irrigation system in which all necessary water-control structures have been installed for the efficient distribution of irrigation water by subsurface means.

Payment is 50% - 65% with a limit of $2,000 per landowner per year.

To apply for cost-share funds or to find out if your property is in a high priority area, check the attached map or call 316-660-7287. 

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last update: 01/15/04
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