PIERRE, S.D.(WNAX)- The legislature this year approved spending three million dollars on water quality improvement in and near the Big Sioux River.

Jay Gilbertson, manager of the East Dakota Water Development District in Brookings, says there is a lot of ground to cover in the watershed.

Gilbertson says one option is to work with other ongoing river improvement projects.

Gilbertson says the legislature hasn’t committed state dollars in the past.

Gilbertson says they will continue working with landowners near the river that volunteer land to be converted to buffer strips to slow down runoff.