WATERLOO — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will invest in 14 urban water quality projects across the state.
Utilizing funding from the state’s Water Quality Initiative and other sources, the department will provide cost-share grants that cover up to 50% of the total cost of each project. The department is investing nearly $3.6 million, which will leverage an overall investment of approximately $10 million across the 14 projects.
Funding will go toward three projects in the Cedar Valley.
“Regardless of whether you live in a big city, a small town or on a family farm, all Iowans can play an active role in conserving and protecting our precious natural resources, including our soil and water,” Naig said in a news release.
Over the past decade, the department invested in more than 120 urban water quality projects.
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The department provides financial and technical assistance to the communities and organizations implementing these urban water quality practices. To receive state funding, the urban water quality projects must include education and outreach components and involve local partners.
The urban conservation projects include water quality practices like bioretention cells, bioswales, native plantings, permeable pavers, rain gardens, soil quality restoration and wetlands.
The city of Hudson will receive $190,900 for a wetland park restoration project. The city will restore an oxbow wetland and create two storm water wetlands within the Black Hawk Creek Watershed, adjacent to a new urban development. The practices improve water quality, reduce localized flooding and create beneficial wildlife habitat.
The city of Jesup will receive $175,000 for a storm water wetland. The city’s wastewater treatment plant was recently updated which included taking one settling basin offline. The depressed area of approximately two acres is an ideal location for constructing a storm water wetland to treat a 33-acre drainage area. The wetland will be able to manage small and large storm events due to the size of the current basin. The project will directly improve the water quality of the adjacent tributary and water quality downstream, including the Cedar River.
The city of Waterloo will receive $400,000 for the Sunnyside Creek Watershed water quality wet pond. The city will construct a 14-acre wet pond and an adjoining wetland within the Sunnyside Creek watershed connected to Black Hawk Creek and the Cedar River. The project will treat runoff from 375 acres of agricultural land and a future development area. The pond will use a multistage outlet to control the flow from various storm events.
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