Our Work

Dakota County is working to protect our groundwater with a new program that targets harmful chemicals.

The Agriculture Chemical Reduction Effort (ACRE) Plan uses existing voluntary programs that give farmers tools and incentives to reduce chemicals that seep into the groundwater. The ACRE Plan, the first of its kind in Minnesota, was adopted by the Dakota County Board of Commissioners in October 2022.

The plan emerged from the 20202030 Dakota County Groundwater Plan, which identified a range of groundwater issues in rural and urban areas of the county. Chemicals like nitrates, crop herbicides and chloride were found to be significant, persistent drinking water issues for much of rural Dakota County.

The ACRE Plan focuses on nitrates — chemicals used in fertilizers that can pass through soil and contaminate groundwater. Water with high nitrate levels can be harmful to adults and especially dangerous to infants.

Two main factors contribute to nitrate contamination in the county — geology and farming. Dakota County sits on top of what’s known as karst — a landform that features the rolling hills, hollows, caves, springs and bluffs that makes the area unique in Minnesota. A key feature of karst is its dissolved bedrock, such as limestone, that allows above-ground chemicals to easily reach the groundwater. When paired with extensive farming in Dakota County, the combination makes the area especially susceptible to groundwater contamination.

The ACRE Plan aims to reduce what gets down there.

Farmers can receive cash incentives for implementing water quality practices. They also have access to state water-quality certification and participation in other programs. We partner with the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District to assist farmers with learning more about ways to reduce nitrate levels in our groundwater. Learn more by visiting www.dakotaswcd.org, navigating to the Services menu and selecting Land & Water.

We anticipate that increasing farming practices like planting cover crops will reduce nitrate levels over time. Cover crops — plants like rye and winter wheat — slow erosion on farmland that might otherwise get washed away by rain while fields lay bare in between growing seasons. In addition to improving soil health, cover crops’ roots absorb the nitrates before they reach groundwater.

Current implementation of water quality practices is spotty. The ACRE plan aims to increase the use of cover crops from about 5 percent to up to 40 percent in some townships. Meanwhile, just over half of Dakota County’s farmers apply a product with their fertilizers to hold nitrogen in the soils. That would grow to about 75 percent under the plan.

ACRE aims to increase the use of cover crops that slow erosion and absorb nitrates.

The county is using a network of monitoring wells to study how chemical levels in the water change over time. We expect results will begin to show improvement patterns after about five years.

Dakota County is home to more than 8,000 private wells. The county’s groundwater plan provides free well testing every five years to every private well owner in the county. While nitrates are a focus in rural Dakota County, testing has revealed elevated levels of other contaminants such as manganese in urban areas. More than 1,000 well owners have taken advantage of the testing so far.

To learn more about the ACRE Plan, visit www.dakotacounty.us, search acre plan.

More than 8,000 private wells in Dakota County.