SYCAMORE – DeKalb County residents toured the Kishwaukee River’s watershed to learn about conservation as a part of the county’s watershed planning process this past weekend.
More than 40 community members toured spots along the Kishwaukee River on Saturday to learn about the Upper South Branch Kishwaukee River Watershed planning process by the DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District.
According to the news release from the district, “One of the primary goals of developing a watershed plan, is to have residents take ownership of their watershed.”
The bus tour made stops at the Bayer Research Farm in Waterman, the headwaters of the south branch of the Kishwaukee River, the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District and Lions Park in DeKalb to research information about invertebrates and water quality testing.
At the Bayer Research Farm near Waterman, the group learned about cover crops, agricultural best management practices and pollinator plantings.
Residents were able to learn about water quality testing being done at the south branch of the Kishwaukee River by NIU students and how the data will be a benchmark to measure future implemented projects.
At the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District of DeKalb, staff showed how wastewater is treated and safely reincorporated into the river, and they gave the tourists a sneak peek at the new renovations underway.
At Lions Park in DeKalb the tour members learned about freshwater macroinvertebrates in the watershed.
Future watershed planning updates can be found at http://www.dekalbcountywatersheds-il.org/.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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