CEDAR FALLS -- Over the span of two decades, the Cedar Valley community has embraced urban conservation efforts on their properties and in their public spaces in an effort to improve water quality in Dry Run Creek.

Rain gardens, rain barrels and permeable pavement are some of the more than 300 water conservation practices that residents of Cedar Falls and nearby Waterloo have adopted during the 20 years of the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project.

The watershed project is part of a water quality improvement plan with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and in collaboration with the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District. But, over the past two decades, the project has forged partnership with the cities, residents and local organizations in the name of improving Dry Run Creek's water quality.

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Josh Balk, the source water protection coordinator with the project for the past 11 years, said the watershed project has shown the power of community as everyone steps up to play a role in protecting the watershed.

"We all have common goals: everyone wants to live happy, healthy lives, be outdoors, enjoy themselves," Balk said. "Getting involved with conservation, whether smaller or large scale, there's indeed opportunities there."

According to the Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District, the water quality improvements in the region resulted in 120 million gallons of stormwater runoff filtered naturally into the ground each year and 3,700 tons of soil, annually, prevented from eroding into the creek.

At Clay Street Park in Cedar Falls, where a rain barrel workshop and celebration of 20 years of the project took place Oct. 7, participants could see examples of the watershed work in action. Between the basketball court and the playground at the park, a bioretention cell buzzed with insects and fall-blooming native plants. The bioretention cell, which is another name for a rain garden, not only provides habitat but also helps absorb rain water that would otherwise run into city stormwater intakes and into the creek.

A permeable alley also sits to the east of the park and runs up and down the block. The permeable pavers in the center of the alley filter and allow water and snow to seep into the ground below the concrete, rather than sending that water to storm water infrastructure.

Maria Perez, a storm water specialist with the city of Cedar Falls, said these projects were pushed by Balk and the watershed project, but represent the collaborative effort between the city and the project.

"It's always a collaboration," Perez said. "There's a lot of projects in the city because of this project."

Balk said there are about 50 bioretention cells in the city, most of them in high traffic areas where residents are able to see and interact with the native plant landscapes.

These projects make use of funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Program, which are distributed to improve the water quality in Dry Run Creek. It also uses grants from state and local partners. Over 20 years, that funding equated to $3.1 million dollars in cost share funds spent on landowners who implemented the practices.

In the past couple of years, Balk said, the adoption of rain gardens in town has "skyrocketed" and when the project hosts a rain barrel workshop, as it did at the 20th anniversary event, he said they almost always sell out.

"Thankfully, the Cedar Valley has been very interested, passionate about conservation, and we've been able to build upon that, provide the technical resources and the incentives so folks can make this conservation happen," Balk said.

Community impacts

While the city of Waterloo is not technically in the Dry Run Creek watershed area, Waterloo residents and city staff have been involved in the project as well.

Kristine Beenken, of Waterloo, said she attended a practical backyards tour hosted by the watershed improvement project last year, which she said opened her eyes to the number of water management projects that had been installed, just in peoples' backyards, throughout the Cedar Valley.

Beenken said she already has a rain barrel on her property but spoke with Balk about adding a rain garden soon as well. The native plants in a rain garden, she said, not only help to protect the water in her area, but also make lawn maintenance a lot easier.

Landowners, or homeowners, like Beenken who want to implement these practices get a consultation with Balk, who figures out what projects would work best, and helps to coordinate technical and financial resources. Usually, the project is able to find funding for up to 75% of the cost of the project, according to its website.

Adam Himschoot, also of Waterloo, said he is interested in the water management project because flooding has become common in the region.

"If everybody does a little bit ... it might help out," Himschoot said.

After stepping out of a fish costume at the event, Cameron Agan, a storm water specialist for Waterloo, said the city has millions of dollars worth of projects on its lists to improve storm water management.

"So any little bit that homeowners can do, or business owners, helps with that," Agan said.

Agan said storm sewer lines and plans are designed with five-year storms in mind, but he said the frequency and amount of rain in those storms has changed "quite a bit" since a lot of city infrastructure was built.

Agan's colleague, Ryan Shatek, also a storm water specialist with the city, said things like rain barrels, bioretention cells and permeable areas of pavement all help to reduce the amount of water headed for a storm sewer.

"It's not a lot, but it does help with a big flush of rain," Shatek said. "Everything helps."

Environmental impacts

Balk said the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project was initiated because of two water impairments in Dry Run Creek, one for bacteria and another for stream biology. These impairments were largely attributed to stormwater runoff in the creek.

Balk said the project "hasn't quite" reached its goals for water quality improvement, but is showing "improving trends." He said biological diversity in the creek has had a "significant increase" since the project started.

Dry Run Creek has been subject to multiple fish kills, attributed to releases of manure from a dairy. These instances occurred near Decorah, about 80 miles northeast of Cedar Falls, and outside of the Dry Run Creek watershed area.

Balk said the Dry Run Creek watershed experiences an almost 2% increase in urbanization each year, which is part of why the urban water management strategies are a focus of the project.

"We're losing agricultural land and getting more hard surfaces," Balk said. "Our land's changing, and so (we're) trying to find ways to get conservation in to protect the land we have."

Tom Schilke has been a part of the Prairie Rapids Audubon Society since 1999 and said he has noticed a change in the wildlife now that there are more native plants in people's yards and on city property.

Schilke said he is starting to find more birds in town than in some of the natural spaces he frequents for bird watching.

The native plants in people's yards or on city grounds -- like the bioretention cell in the middle of the park -- mean there's more habitat, food and better water quality in the area, which draws in more birds.

"People think we're just about birds ... but it's about ecology and how it all fits together," Schilke said.

Schilke said the society tries to get people to understand their surroundings more and why a bird might, or might not, be hanging around. Building a rain garden in a yard, or planting some native plants, he said, is a "good start."

"One little piece at a time builds momentum," Schilke said.

Beyond Cedar Falls and the direct watershed, Mary Beth Stevenson, chair of the Middle Cedar Watershed Management Authority, said the water quality improvements made by the Dry Run Creek Project are "incredibly important" to the health of the larger watershed. The Middle Cedar Watershed includes parts of Benton, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Butler, Franklin, Grundy, Hardin, Linn, Marshall and Tama counties.

"The Dry Run Creek effort is an important model for community-based watershed improvements," Stevenson said in a statement. "We are grateful to Josh Balk and the Black Hawk SWCD for all their work on improving water quality and educating citizens about what we can all do to improve water quality."

Balk said the Dry Run Creek watershed effort has been unique in the fact that a large portion of the watershed is urban, where other watershed projects in the state might be focused more on rural, or agricultural land.

"Everyone lives in the watershed, everyone has a role to play," Balk said. "No matter what size land you own, what the land use is, there's a way to get involved with conservation."

This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.

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Cedar Falls' Dry Run Creek shows what 20 years of watershed work looks like