State to invest $2.7 million to support urban water quality projects, including in Cedar Rapids

WEST DES MOINES — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Monday the state will invest $2.7 million to support 14 urban water quality projects across the state, including in Cedar Rapids.

Naig made the announcement during Iowa Soil and Water Conservation week, and said all Iowans have a role to play in soil and water conservation, regardless of where they live or what type of property they own.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will use funding from the state Water Quality Initiative as well as other sources to provide cost-share grants that cover up to half the total coast of each project.

Including local matches, the urban water quality projects will leverage more than $5.7 million for projects located in: Algona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Cedar Rapids, Clear Lake, Clinton, Decorah, Des Moines, Dunlap, Durant, Evansdale, Mount Ayr, Oskaloosa and West Des Moines.

Projects range from adding permeable parking lots and pavers, to the use of bioretention cells, bioswales, rain gardens, native landscaping, oxbows and wetlands to slow and filter stormwater runoff.

In Cedar Rapids, the state department of agriculture plans to invest $177,625 as part of a planned $500,000 project by the Linn County Conservation Board to build a wetland and improve water quality near Morgan Creek Park.

The wetlands restoration project will reduce erosion, provide flood protection and improve water quality near Morgan Creek Park by filtering and slowing the flow of water and sediment that otherwise would rush into a creek and the Middle Cedar River, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The wetland also will provide habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife.

The department provides financial and technical assistance to communities and organizations undertaking the conservation projects. To receive the state grant funds, water quality projects must include education and public outreach components.

Naig said the cost-share grants are another way to adhere to the state’s strategy to reduce fertilizer, manure and other agricultural runoff from washing into the Mississippi River and its tributaries, ultimately flowing into the Gulf. This excess nutrient load fuels massive algae blooms, which then sink, decompose and consume oxygen in the water, creating hypoxic (low-oxygen) zones where marine life cannot survive.

Over the past decade, Naig said the department has invested in 140 urban conservation projects, contributing to statewide conservation efforts.

The Department aims to continue accelerating and scaling up conservation practice adoption, setting consecutive records for conservation work.

‘This work is making a difference’

“This work is making a difference. Projects like this are making a difference,” Naig said of a project in West Des Moines he toured on Monday.

The project will add bioretention cells — shallow stormwater basins that use engineered soils and vegetation to capture and treat water runoff — native plants and a stormwater wetland to the Legacy Woods Nature Sanctuary, as part of its plan to expand to include trails, a playground and a new heritage center next to the Jordan House Museum. Water from the property drains into Jordan Creek and the Racoon River.

“We're not done,” Naig said. “… There's certainly more work to do, but we're seeing progress towards achieving our Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals. Projects like this make a difference.”

The state released its Nutrient Reduction Strategy in 2013 to align with directives from the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The strategy aims for a 45 percent reduction in total nitrogen and phosphorus pollution based on average nutrient loads from 1980 to 1996.

Naig said the initiative announced this week aims to inspire similar projects across Iowa, by promoting community involvement, raising awareness of new stormwater management methods and emphasizing the importance and impact of environmental preservation.

“Every single person can play a role. Some roles are bigger than others, of course, and we want to continue working together and attracting even more partners,” Naig said. “… We know that working together, we can make a difference, and it's only through new partnerships that we can see the dividends pay for many, many decades to come.”

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