State runoff grant awarded to Roden Heifer Center

A grant request from the Ozaukee County Land and Water Management Office to erect a roof over a 15,000-square-foot section of barnyard in the Town of Saukville was the top scoring project in the state and has been awarded $225,000.

The Targeted Runoff Management Grant from the state Department of Natural Resources is designed to reduce animal waste runoff into Mole Creek and reduce the amount of phosphorus flowing into the creek by about 100 pounds per year from the Roden Heifer Center at 2141 W. Center Road, according to documents submitted to the county Natural Resource Committee last week. 

Mole Creek is one of the only cold-water streams in Ozaukee County, Land Management Director Andy Holschbach said. The creek flows into the Milwaukee River.

The total cost of the roof system is $360,848, Holschbach said. The grant will be paid out over a two-year period.

The grant amount is the maximum allowed.

The request was the highest ranked of five projects that received grant funds. Other projects were located in Shawano, Columbia and Juneau counties.