IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
January 18, 2007
For immediate release

1.	Public asked for ideas to improve Iowa River
2.	Meeting for watershed planners to introduce new Watershed Development and
Assistance Grant Program

PUBLIC ASKED FOR IDEAS TO IMPROVE IOWA RIVER

MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Van Gorp at (515) 281-4791.

IOWA CITY - The DNR will hold a public meeting Jan. 31 in Iowa City to 
gather
Iowans’ input on a draft plan to clean up the Iowa River.

The DNR will hold the meeting at 1 p.m. at the Iowa City Water Facility, 
located
at 2551 N. Dubuque St.

The Iowa River is considered “impaired” along a segment stretching from the
Coralville dam to the Burlington Street dam in Iowa City. High bacteria 
levels
are the main cause of water quality problems in this segment. The bacteria
indicate that waste from wildlife, livestock, birds and humans is in the 
water.

Only small amounts of bacteria in the impaired segment come from the 
Coralville
Reservoir upstream. Instead, the bacteria drain into the impaired segment of 
the
river from a 153-square-mile watershed. A watershed is an area of land that
drains into a stream, river or lake. This watershed drainage, which is 
located
in Iowa and Johnson counties, comes from Rapid, Muddy and Clear Creeks as 
well
as some areas and storm sewers that drain directly into the Iowa River. It’s
necessary to improve water quality in this smaller watershed as well as the
greater Iowa River watershed to maintain clean water along the impaired 
segment
of the river.

To address this, the DNR has developed a draft water quality improvement 
plan,
also known as a TMDL, or Total Maximum Daily Load, for the Iowa River. TMDLs 
are
calculations used to determine how much of a pollutant a water body can 
receive
and still meet water quality standards. The water quality improvement plan
includes information on how conservation efforts in the watershed can 
improve
water quality.

Iowans can also submit comments on the draft Iowa River plan via e-mail, 
phone
or mail (contact information below). Public comments will be accepted until 
Feb.
19.

Copies of the draft plan are available from the following sources, which can
also be used to submit comments:
Internet: www.iowadnr.gov/water/watershed/tmdl/publicnotice.html
E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Telephone: Chris Van Gorp at (515) 281-4791
Mail: Chris Van Gorp, care of Iowa DNR, Wallace State Office Building, 502 
E.
9th St., Des Moines, Iowa 50319

More information about water quality improvement plans is available on the 
DNR
Web site at www.iowadnr.gov/water/watershed/tmdl/

After receiving public comments, the DNR will forward the draft plan to the 
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency for final approval.

# # #

MEETING FOR WATERSHED PLANNERS TO INTRODUCE NEW WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT AND
ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM

MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Ehm at (515) 281-4701 or Allen Bonini at (515) 281-5107

WEST DES MOINES - A Jan. 30 meeting will introduce a new planning assistance
program for watershed projects.

The new Watershed Development and Assistance Grants program is designed to
assist soil and water conservation districts and local watershed sponsors in
assessing and analyzing current watershed conditions, developing and 
selecting
pollutant control alternatives, and writing a watershed plan and watershed
project application.

As part of this program, the DNR and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and 
Land
Stewardship Division of Soil Conservation (DSC) will provide funding to 
support
qualified watershed planners to perform these planning functions. The 
ultimate
goal is to improve local watershed and water quality project applications.
Watershed improvement projects work to improve water quality in Iowa lakes 
and
streams by focusing on watersheds, the area of land that drains into a 
stream or
lake.

DSC, DNR and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host the
Jan. 30 meeting for prospective watershed planners to explain the program 
and
the requirements planners must meet. The meeting will provide information on
Iowa’s impaired waters list, the nine-step watershed planning protocol,
available assessment tools, data interpretation, the role of a watershed
planner, and the necessary components of a complete watershed plan. 
Attendance
at this meeting is required to be eligible to serve as a watershed planner 
under
this program.

The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Jan. 30 at the West Des Moines campus of 
Des
Moines Area Community College, located at 5959 Grand Ave. Individuals 
interested
in performing watershed planning under this program must register by 
contacting
Bill Ehm at (515) 281-4701 or [log in to unmask] by Friday, Jan. 
26.
Walk-ins will not be accepted.

More information about the Watershed Development and Assistance Grants 
program
can be found on the DNR Web site at
www.iowadnr.gov/water/watershed/project.html.

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