Upper Iowa River Upland Restoration

This project will restore a sub-watershed by implementing a treatment train of practices. There are 275 acres in this sub-watershed, located directly upstream of the Upper Iowa River. The topography lends itself to flashy stormwater events which leave their mark on the upland gully erosion and severely degraded streambank. The watershed operates as a funnel, bringing the high velocity water to a concentrated area and shooting it through the banks, rather than over. This has lead to a site which is void of vegetation and six streambank blowouts within a 300 foot area of streambank.
This project will treat the flow by constructing grass waterways in the upper reaches of the watershed and treat that water all the way down to the streambank. Directly adjacent to the streambank, an earthen structure will be built, to trap, treat and release the water back into the Upper Iowa at a responsible rate. The structure will fix and prevent future streambank blowouts. It will also treat and provide settlement for the upstream stormwater. This project captures the issues of a small watershed and fixes the problem through a series of strategically placed conservation methods.