Program Overview
Johnson County’s Soil Health Program promotes cleaner water in our streams with the greening of our backyards through healthy soil. Soil Quality Restoration combines aeration and compost application.
Compost is Key!
The compost adds much needed nutrients and microorganisms to your soil, improving soil health. Building soil health will give you a healthy green lawn without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, chemicals that can get picked up in rain water and carried to our creeks and streams (and that can also degrade soil health over time!).
The County is offering a 50% rebate, up to $2000, for soil quality restoration projects. The program is for homeowners in the unincorporated area and the communities of Hills, Lone Tree, Oxford, Shueyville, Solon, Swisher, Tiffin, University Heights, and West Branch (located within Johnson County). Residents of Coralville, Iowa City, and North Liberty should contact their respective municipalities. Other program requirements can be found here.
Request A Quote
To participate in the Soil Health Program, you will first need to obtain an estimate from a contractor on the APPROVED CONTRACTOR LIST. You can contact a contractor directly, or you can complete the REQUEST A QUOTE web form to automatically send a request to the full list.
Submit An Application
We will start accepting applications on July 1. You will find a link to the webform application here.
NEW THIS YEAR! Johnson County and Johnson County SWCD are partnering to offer participants up to 75% reimbursement to complete SQR. The webform application will provide the choice to participate in the County-only program for up to 50% ($2000 maximum), or the joint program for up to 75%. The joint program will include additional forms to be completed throughout the process and potentially a longer program acceptance and reimbursement period (the SWCD approves applications the last week of each month).