February 5, 2016
CapitalPress.com
9
Creek project ends longstanding runoff problem
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
Unexpected help from
Mother Nature played a big
role in a successful stream re-
habilitation in southern Idaho
that involved an old dairy site
on Trout Creek, near Grace,
Idaho.
Landowner Mike Tingey
runs beef cattle and wanted to
take out the old dairy facility
next to the creek.
Pauline Bassett, Natural
Resources Conservation Ser-
vice Caribou District in Soda
Springs, said her agency be-
came involved helping with
funding, utilizing the State
Revolving Fund for clean wa-
ter projects.
“We inally got this one
through with cooperation from
the city of Soda Springs, in con-
junction with their new waste-
water treatment program,”
she said. “We got to keep half
the interest from money they
had borrowed; that’s what
funded the project on Trout
Creek.”
Chris Banks, water quality
resource consultant for Car-
ibou Conservation District,
said Soda Springs obtained a
low-interest loan from the state
fund.
“The (Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality) allows proj-
ects located in the watershed
where wastewater facilities are
Courtesy photo
A stream rehabilitation project in southern Idaho involved an old
dairy site along Trout Creek, near Grace, Idaho. Rancher Mike
Tingey partnered with the Natural Resources Conservation Service
Caribou District in Soda Springs to take out the old dairy facility.
going in to tack on these proj-
ects that have not been funded,
with permission from the city,”
he said.
Partnering with Soda
Springs increased the amount
of the loan the city was request-
ing from the state, but also re-
duced the interest.
“It saved the city and the
taxpayers money, by allowing
us to do this. It’s a special kind
of project, a new way of partic-
ipating with a non-traditional
partner such as cities that have
the ability to do this,” Banks
said. Seven of these partnering
projects have been undertaken
across the state.
Tingey’s farm on Trout
Creek wasn’t used as a dairy
anymore, but there were still
issues with water quality.
“We wanted to eliminate a
concrete area where manure
from the dairy was scraped into
the stream, and an old dairy la-
goon next to the creek,” Banks
said. There was still waste ma-
terial, and every time the stream
rose, it took some of that into
the creek. It was hauled out and
replaced with cinders, gravel
and topsoil.
“We removed an old cement
retaining wall and stabilized
300 feet of Trout Creek on that
side of the stream by reshaping
the banks, using rock to hold it,
iltered soil on top of the rocks,
and planted riparian vegetation,
willows, and red ocher dog-
woods,” he said.
Another goal was to move
livestock away from the creek.
The old corrals were torn down
and a new corral system was
built a quarter-mile north, on a
latter area.
Tingey already had a wa-
ter system on that side of the
stream, so he just attached a
pipe to the old system to supply
water for the livestock.
“That saved money because
we didn’t have to make a com-
pletely new water system,”
Banks said.
“We’re glad to be able to
help landowners who want to
restore creeks,” Bassett said.
“The transformation is amaz-
ing, from what it looked like
before.”
Several old buildings — a
loaing shed, stanchions and an
old dairy parlor — needed to be
removed.
“One night we were all at
the county fair, getting ready
for the 4-H steer show during
a lightning storm,” Banks said.
“A neighbor called Mike and
told him his place was on ire.”
Lightning hit his hay shed,
burning the shed and 400 tons
of hay, but also burned down
those old outbuildings.
“The ire saved us $60,000
in demolition costs; we didn’t
have to take the buildings down
and haul them off,” Bassett
said.
The hay and hay shed were
insured, so Tingey was able to
replace the hay and rebuild the
shed.
“Mother Nature actually
helped us out,” Banks said.
Tingey put a new hay shed
on the old cement looring of
the dairy building. This made
a good tradeoff. With the old
buildings gone, Tingey now
has a larger area for vehicles
and machinery, with no more
runoff into the creek.
“The Department of Ag-
riculture had met with him
earlier, interested in removing
runoff, and improving water
quality. Tingey wanted to do
something about it, but we
weren’t able to get this project
funded until this opportunity
came along,” Banks said.
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