Davenport, Durant receive state funds for urban water projects

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is investing in the future of the state’s water quality.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will invest in 14 urban water quality projects in communities of all sizes statewide. Naig made the announcement with Davenport city leaders at an event at Goose Creek Park, the location of one of the new water quality projects.

Using funds from the state’s Water Quality Initiative (WQI) 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, leveraging an overall investment of about $10 million across the 14 projects.

“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,” said Naig. “Over the past decade, the Department has invested in more than 120 urban water quality projects, working alongside local partners to accelerate our statewide water quality progress. Through this exciting partnership with the City of Davenport on the Goose Creek project, we will demonstrate how innovative practices can both improve the quality of the water leaving a residential area while also providing habitat and recreation for those enjoying a community park.”

Naig And Davenport Public Work’s Clean Water Manager Amy Kay said this project is needed for Goose Creek Park.

“You’re doing the right thing from an environmental standpoint so I think it just brings together well how these things can be incorporated in the landscape seamlessly that benefits this Goose Creek but also something that’s enjoyable and even an amenity for communities, Naig said. “That’s the art of bringing all of that together,” he added.

“There are environmental improvement projects and water quality improvement projects that can happen almost anywhere in the city so that was one of the reasons that we chose this particular site,” Kay said.

Urban water quality projects must include education and outreach components and involve local partners to receive state funding. These community-based projects create awareness about new stormwater management methods and encourage others to adopt similar practices to improve water quality. The urban conservation projects include water quality practices like bioretention cells, bioswales, native plantings, permeable pavers, rain gardens, soil quality restoration and wetlands.

The Goose Creek Park Bioretention Cell Project in Davenport will receive $99,500 to develop a system that will capture urban runoff from a residential neighborhood near Goose Creek Park. The project includes two bioretention cells and a series of innovative step pools within Goose Creek Park that will slow and cool runoff, capture nutrients and improve the water quality of Goose Creek. The urban setting allows the public to view the project and provides additional benefits as the practices can treat runoff close to its source.

Naig also said that he hopes this project helps inspire more people to think about the importance of preservation not just in parks, but everywhere.

“We think this is a really nice, very visible way to showcase this,” Naig said. “It’s in an area where folks will get their eyes on this and what we hope is that we can then inspire others. Whether it is on your private property or whether other communities can come and see this and think about how they can incorporate it into their landscapes.”

“Davenport is thrilled to learn that a project aimed at improving water quality and restoring the streambank on one of our local waterways, Goose Creek, has been selected to receive funding,” said Mike Matson, Davenport mayor. “The project was chosen among 13 other water quality projects in Iowa and is an important step towards enhancing the quality of water and habitat both locally and downstream.”

In Durant, the Feldhan Park/Mud Creek Storm Water Quality and Wetland Initiative will receive $496,559 to create a vegetated swale that will capture and filter stormwater from a new development area of Durant and carry the water to a stormwater wetland to be built in Feldhan Park. This will reduce sediment and nutrients from being released to Mud Creek.

Click here to see the other projects funded by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Kay also mentioned the project’s design will start this summer and should be fully installed next summer in 2025.

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