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Cedar Falls, Iowa-Area Conservationists Plan Waterways Cleanup

Posted on: Friday, 30 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By Matthew Wilde, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Dec. 28--CEDAR FALLS -- Local conservationists plan to use more than a half-million dollars in taxpayer money to clean up impaired waterways in the county.

The Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District announced late last week the county will receive $568,000 from the state Watershed Improvement Review Board. The money will be used during the next three years to improve water quality through education and soil management practices. It will be administered by the conservation district commissioners.

The vast majority of the grant -- $500,000 -- will fund an ongoing program to clean up Dry Run Creek. The creek, with its many branches, starts several miles southwest of Cedar Falls, meanders through the community and eventually dumps into the Cedar River.

Once considered a recreational stream for area youth, now it's on the government's list of impaired waterways. Commissioners believe the urbanization of the area is the primary culprit for elevated levels of e-coli bacteria and nitrates in the creek.

The creek runs through areas that used to be farms and grasslands, which filtered the water. Now it's filled with houses, businesses and concrete, which chemicals, pesticides, oil, etc. washes into the creek from lawns and parking lots.

A survey earlier this year pointed out 68 percent of people in the watershed didn't know a problem existed and many didn't know what a watershed was. By educating residents and helping landowners install such things as vegetative filter strips and permeable paving (allows water to infiltrate the ground), this will help the whole county, officials said.

"This is great news," said Shaffer Ridgeway, Black Hawk County Natural Resources Conservation Service administrator, about the grants. "A number of people have done a lot of work on both these projects. We believe the information received will benefit the citizens of the county."

The Dry Run Creek funds will pay for an educational workshop for area residents, implement water improvement practices and monitor progress for several years.

The remainder of the funds will be earmarked for the Miller Creek watershed. Located in the southern part of the county, the creek flows near gentle hills in the area that are susceptible to storm runoff.

Heavy rains in May 2004 washed away tons on topsoil, roads and bridges.

About $600,000 in damage was caused by erosion, of which more than half was to county roads and bridges. The money will evaluate the impact of various conservation practices to stop erosion and improve water quality such as fall overseeding, filter strips, grass waterways, pest management and nutrients management.

"Some people wonder what the purpose of the Soil and Water Commission is. I tell them that we are working hard to improved water quality and promote conservation in the county," said John Hoffman, commission chairman. "These two grants demonstrate Black Hawk County's leadership in that area."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

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Source: Waterloo Courier

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