What is an SWCD?
Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD's) are political subdivisions of the State established under Minnesota Statute 103C. Each SWCD is governed by a board of 5 elected supervisors. Supervisors are elected by nomination district on the general ballot. There are 91 SWCD's in Minnesota, at least one in each of the 87 counties. The first SWCD in Minnesota was created in 1938 to encourage landowners to conserve soil and water resources. Statewide, 75% of lands are in private ownership. In agricultural regions, the number is quite often 95%.
SWCD's fill the crucial niche of providing land and water conservation services to owners of private lands. Managing private lands in a way that promotes a sound economy and sustains and enhances natural resources is key to Minnesota’s environmental health. Private landowners trust SWCD's to provide needed technology, funding and educational services because they are established in each community, governed by local leaders and focused on conservation of local soil and water resources.
SWCD's work to reduce non-point source pollution to make Minnesota's lakes and rivers fishable and swimmable. Non-point source (NPS) pollution is a term for polluted runoff. Water washing over the land, whether from rain, car washing, or the watering of crops or lawns, picks up an array of contaminants, including oil and sand from roadways, agricultural chemicals from farmland, and nutrients and toxic materials from urban areas. This runoff finds its way into our waterways, either directly or through storm drain collection systems. The term non-point is used to distinguish this type of diffuse pollution from point source pollution, which comes from specific sources, such as sewage treatment plants or industrial facilities.
Landowners across Minnesota count on SWCD technical assistance with conservation practices that protect the quality of Minnesota's greatest treasure - our natural resources.
Faribault County SWCD
The Faribault SWCD has a 5 member elected board and 6 staff. Our mission is "To assist the citizens of Faribault County in improving water quality and reducing soil erosion, establishing wildlife habitat, and promoting information and education to insure continued clean water for future generations and continued productivity of our soil and water." Our mission is accomplished primarily through our ability to work one on one with landowners and homeowners throughout the county in delivering on the ground programs and opportunities, and having the technical abilities to implement them.
Faribault County is unique in the fact that the SWCD and County have signed a Contract for Services to implement Planning & Zoning and County Drainage programs within the SWCD office. These programs are under the daily supervision of the Program Administrator. In addition to traditional SWCD programs, the Faribault SWCD also serves as a delivery provider for the Natural Resource Block Grant state programs which include Shoreland, Feedlots, Wetland Conservation Act (WCA), Subsurface Sewage Treatment System (SSTS), and Local Water Management Plan.
The SWCD receives funding from State, County and other sources; but operates independent of the county and other governmental entities. The 5 member SWCD Board works jointly with the 5 member County Commissioner Board as outlined in the Contract for Services.
