Cedar Rapids looks to curb McLoud Run fish kills with installation of water pressure monitors

In an effort to reduce the number of fish killed in McLoud Run as a result of water main breaks, the City of Cedar Rapids has purchased and will install sensors in fire hydrants along Iowa’s only urban trout stream.

The sensors won’t prevent water main breaks. They’re designed to detect water pressure changes and alert city staff to potential water main breaks, so they can respond more quickly and reduce the amount of treated water that reaches the stream.

“That doesn't guarantee that nothing will happen in McLoud Run,” said Cedar Rapids Utilities Director Roy Hesemann. “It will be an opportunity for us to see what's going on and get a better idea and maybe identify some issues well before, well before they may get noticed.”

Hesemann said the city started looking into installing sensors in McLoud Run after a water main break killed 1,700 fish in January, resulting in $22,000 worth of fines for the city. Another fish kill in the stream in September — again caused by a water main break — killed around 1,250 fish. The DNR has not issued a fine for that incident.

Hesemann said the first batch of sensors likely will be installed in December. The sensors will be placed in fire hydrants along the stream, which runs parallel to Interstate 380 before passing under the road and connecting to the Cedar River.

The second batch of sensors likely will be installed next spring, Hesemann said, with about five to seven more sensors.

How will they work?

Hesemann said the sensors were purchased from Clow Valve Co., of Oskaloosa.

The city will install the company’s “iHydrant,” which monitors both water temperature and pressure.

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Hesemann said the sensors go down through the barrel of a fire hydrant, into the water main line. He said hydrant barrels are dry, otherwise they would freeze in cold weather.

The sensor sits in the top of a hydrant, where it reads the water pressure “very accurately,” Hesemann said, and continuously sends a signal to the city’s water control plant. He said they will be monitoring the sensors “24/7, 365 days” a year.

Operators “will have a screen that will show those different water pressures, and then if there's something that looks wonky, it'll start flashing, or give some sort of a signal that there's a discrepancy,” Hesemann said.

Hesemann said water main breaks often occur at night or early in the morning, which can delay response from the city.

“The locations are not final,” Hesemann said of the sensors. “Out of the 12 to 14 [sensors], at least one or two will probably move to a different location.”

Each iHydrant costs $7,120. The first batch of seven has been purchased for a total of $49,840. The city will pay an additional $300 annually per hydrant for maintenance. The city has not purchased the second batch of five to seven iHydrants.

Hesemann said the pilot program sensors are being paid for out of the department’s operational budget.

He added there is not currently a plan for a third batch of sensors.

“Other communities around the state sounds like they've done well with those [sensors] and had good success,” Hesemann said. “So we're kind of using this as a pilot program, and then we'll see how it works for us, especially in this McLoud Run area, and then we'll go from there.”

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A history of fish kills

According to the DNR’s fish kill database, there have been 13 reported fish kills in McLoud Run ranging in magnitude since 1997. Seven of the 13 kills were attributed to chlorine — from treated drinking water — entering the water.

Some of the other kills were caused by stormwater runoff and illegal dumping of other chemicals into the steam.

The database does not include the September fish kill.

Trout do not naturally reproduce in the stream, so the Iowa DNR regularly stocks it with fish.

Chris Mack, a fisheries biologist with the DNR, investigated the fish kill in September and said trout that were restocked in the stream over the summer likely were killed due to the break. He put the monetary value of the fish at about $15 each for trout.

Mack, in September, said the DNR was still planning to stock McLoud Run with brown trout in November.

Kelli Albert, utilities communications specialist for Cedar Rapids, said the city is proud to have the only urban trout stream in the state, but it can be difficult to balance prioritizing safe drinking water for residents, while also preserving wildlife.

“Unfortunately, when you intertwine nature with humankind, there's going to be issues, and there's going to be hiccups,” Albert said, but added that the city is working to provide as much “oversight as possible to have the really cool amenity.”

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; olivia.cohen@thegazette.com