WEST DES MOINES — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Monday the state agriculture department invested in 14 urban water quality projects, including one that backs up to the historic Jordan House where he spoke.
The project in West Des Moines will add bioretention cells, or rain gardens, native plants and a stormwater wetland to the Legacy Woods Nature Sanctuary, as part of its plan to expand to include trails and recreation for the public. This will help to capture and clean stormwater runoff before it reaches Jordan Creek and Raccoon River.
“Our investment, on the part of the department, is focused on water quality, but we know that projects like this also provide other values for the community, and we love those layered benefits of education and recreation and cultural preservation,” Naig said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
He said the cost-share grants announced are another way to adhere to the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy and said visible urban projects like the one at Legacy Woods can be inspiring to visitors.
“I hope it’ll inspire folks who spend time here to consider what they might do on their own property, but also other cities can come and see how this can be incorporated into the landscape,” Naig said.
Russ Trimble, mayor of West Des Moines, said he was proud of his city’s continued efforts to improve and preserve its natural resources.
“Water quality improvements aren’t just the responsibility of rural Iowa farmers,” Trimble said. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to do our part to clean up and improve our water.”
The grants cover up to 50% of each of the 14 projects and are funded, in part, through the state Water Quality Initiative. IDALS invested $250,000 into the wetland project in West Des Moines and overall invested nearly $2.7 million for all of the projects.
Including the 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 infrastructure, landscaping with oxbows and rain gardens or using native species and wetlands to filter runoff water.
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.
“There’s certainly more work to do, but we’re seeing progress towards achieving our Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals,” Naig said. “Projects like this make a difference.”
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.