Dearborn County, Indiana

What SWCD Does

What We Do/ What We Don’t Do

There are many people who don’t know or misunderstand what Dearborn County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) does. This includes the public, as well as other county departments and local municipalities. Although our name is “Soil & Water” our department does not cover everything related to soil and/or water. While our name includes “Conservation”, we do not cover everything related to environmental conservation.

Our office receives many calls for topics unrelated to the scope of our work. Before calling, consult the information on this page to see if your questions can be better answered by a separate department or office. We understand that sometimes other departments may misunderstand a question or be uncertain about whether to address an issue. No matter what question or issue you may have, we will do our best to lead you in the right direction.

What SWCD Does: We provide leadership and guidance for conservation development. We work closely with NRCS and other Indiana Conservation Partnership (ICP) partners to promote environmental conservation and provide technical assistance services to landowners. We also work with construction sites to achieve proper erosion and sediment controls and stormwater management. Our programs and services for Dearborn County residents include: Backyard Conservation cost-share, free soil sampling, no-till drill and brillion seeder rental, educational programs, conservation workshops, and other initiatives.

What SWCD Does Not Do: Well water testing, inspect or test septic systems, issue building permits, issue construction stormwater (MS4) permits, conduct percolation tests, point source discharge testing, water body testing, manage water or sewer systems, repair water lines, maintain or service ditches, police illegal dumping, structural soil testing, rescue or rehabilitate wildlife, clean up chemical spills, manage soil remediation, or process water bill payments.