Hixson Farms Receives Prowers County Conservation Award

Presentation to Hixson Farms

The Prowers County Conservation District held their annual meeting Wednesday, March 7th at the Elks Lodge in Lamar.

Conservation Poster winners were announced and the posters were on display. The theme this year was “The Soil is Alive”.

The Prowers County Conservationist of the Year Award was presented to Hixson Farms for their work in controlling land erosion from winds. The award was presented by Steve Shelton and he commented on the fact that all the conservation work that was done by the Hixsons was without government money.

Michael Weber, Staff Engineer, for Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, briefly talked about Fountain Creek and solutions for controlling flooding and the impact on the Arkansas River. He also explained the different accounts that have water stored in John Martin Dam and an additional account that is for future expansion.  His third topic involved possible improvements to Adobe Creek including increased water retention.

Michael Weber

Water quality in the Arkansas River Basin from John Martin to the State Line was covered in a presentation by Blake Osborn, Water Resource Specialist from Colorado State University. The higher than average levels of Selenium, Uranium, Sulfates, Arsenic and Salt in the Arkansas River Basin are causing concern.  Some of the concentration in the water occurs naturally from the underlying rock and soil and some is from the run-off of irrigation and rain water.  Blake Osborn, Water Resource Specialist from Colorado State University is preparing a study and ideas to alleviate some of the problem.

By Betty Civis