The Polk County Board of Supervisors approved five new wetlands projects this week as part of the “Wetland Wave” including one that packs a huge punch.
⛳️ It’s a wetland that will be incorporated on the Terrace Hills Golf Course in Altoona.
It has only a 15-acre basin.
But it will treat 10,500 acres of drainage!
That means it’s treating 700 times its own size.
We’re not saying Polk County is a superhero, but…
You might compare their project to Ant-Man… who can shrink in size but maintain superhero strength.
or Yoda… small body, big impact on the universe.
How does that work? We can’t really explain Ant-Man or Yoda, but this wetland’s outsized impact comes from a pump.
It pulls dirty water from the creek into the wetland for filtration, and then clean water is released back into the creek.
The wetland’s drainage area includes the golf course, so any runoff from the grass will be treated.
Plus this!
The golf course is going to use some of the dug-out soil to make new terracing and contours on the course. Time to work on your game! 🏌️♀️
The bigger picture: This is one of the first 10 pumped wetlands in Iowa. Polk County has six under design or construction right now so they can learn more about how they work and what maintenance they need.
The Terrace Hills wetland and the other five approved will be a $3.8 million dollar investment. Fundraising continues, but several partners have already committed funding including Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Great Outdoors Foundation.
Cedar Rapids is receiving $1.29 million from an EPA Farmer to Farmer grant to support water quality efforts in the Middle Cedar Watershed.
Why it matters: Cedar Rapids has their eye on grants and projects that reduce flood risk and protect source water. The city relies on blending water to reduce nitrate levels.
Here’s what they’ll use the money for:
Hire a new watershed coordinator
Collaborate with five farmers to install oxbows and grass waterways
Perform on-farm research
Create a replicable model that others can use beyond the Middle Cedar Watershed
Zooming out: Cedar Rapids has a legacy of successful grants includes the Cedar River Source Water Partnership, which brings in about $20 million in funding from USDA-NRCS and 13 partners. Cedar Rapids is also involved in a state initiative that expands edge-of-field conservation.
Mary Beth Stevenson, watershed and source water program manager for the city, says they have an “overarching goal of utilizing natural infrastructure to improve watershed health.”
And he walks out with a Topeka shiner. That’s the joke. 🤦♀️ (Sorry!)
Here’s the real story, though.
Wetland restorations in Iowa are both improving water quality and saving the Topeka shiner – an endangered prairie minnow. 🐟
Why it matters: The Topeka shiner has been on the endangered species list since 1998 and they’re an important part of our ecosystem. The small fish lost its habitat due to stream straightening – both naturally occurring and man-made.
To save the fish, groups like The Nature Consevancy and Iowa Soybean Association have been helping farmers restore oxbows on their land, a type of u-shaped shallow wetland that offshoots from streams and rivers.
Progress is building 🐦⬛🐟
Hundreds of oxbows have been restored across Iowa
57 fish species and 81 bird species have been found in the restored habitats
Minnows have been found in 60% of Iowa watersheds they historically inhabited! That number was only 32% in 2010.
“It really is a success story,” said Karen Wilke, associate director of freshwater at The Nature Conservancy in Iowa. “Now we’re not just doing it for Topeka shiner, but we’re doing it for water quality as well.”
🐮 His cows like to lay in the Kernza because the soil is cooler. Plus, his soil samples after 3 years are showing increased microbial activity.
Go Deeper: Read more of Bohling’s story in Farm Progress
More news from around the web:
Iowa farm ponds filling with sediment faster than expected
The ponds are designed to keep sediment from flowing into rivers and streams, but new findings show that they are filling up with soil and sediment 25% faster than they were designed to. The primary cause is gully erosion. Read more in The Gazette.
86-yr-old farmer turns down $15 million from data center developers
The Pennsylvania farmer says preserving the land was the right choice. He instead chose to sell development rights to the Lancaster Farmland Trust for $2 million, guaranteeing the land will never be used for any other purpose. Read more on FOX43
Water officials want Des Moines property owners to rethink lawn watering plans
Last summer, high water usage plus elevated nitrate in source water meant that they had to run nitrate removal. It’s too early to know if nitrates will be elevated this year, but higher-than-average levels in January were concerning. Read more in Axios.
58% of Iowans surveyed say water quality is a serious issue
And most voters say they would vote for a candidate who makes protecting clean water a priority. That’s true across party lines. Read more in the Gazette.
Eastern Iowa growth threatens aquifer supply
North Liberty, Solon, and Tiffin residents rely on the Silurian Aquifer. USGS says that aquifer isn’t refilling as fast as people are using it, but there are ways to preserve the natural resource. Read more from KCRG.
Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, 1255 SW Prairie Trail Pkwy, Ankeny, Iowa 50023, United States
