DNR SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON IMPAIRED WATERS LIST
DES MOINES – The DNR is asking Iowans to comment on the draft 2010 list of impaired waters in Iowa, which was presented to the DNR’s Environmental Protection Commission Tuesday.
The 2010 list names 446 streams, rivers and lakes in need of a water quality improvement plan, including 97 additions to the list. Another 126 waterbodies remain impaired, but are not included on the impaired waters list because they have a completed improvement plan or a plan is not needed. That makes for a total of 572 impaired waters in Iowa.
The higher number on the 2010 list indicates an increase in available water and biological monitoring information, not necessarily an increase in pollution, according to John Olson, the DNR’s specialist on water quality assessments. Waters are considered impaired if they do not meet state water quality standards.
“Most waters in Iowa are not severely polluted,” Olson said. “But the impairments do indicate that our waters are not as good as they could or should be for aquatic life and for people to swim in, to play in and use as a source for drinking water. It tells us that we, as Iowans, need to act before those problems become severe.”
The top three reasons Iowa streams are impaired are bacteria, biological factors and fish kills. In lakes, algae, pH levels and turbidity (cloudy water) top the list, although lakes and streams may be impaired for more than one cause. Biological impairments are a major cause of impairment in streams, but are difficult to trace to a specific cause.
Water quality efforts continue throughout the state to address impaired waters, including locally-led watershed improvement and lake restoration efforts supported by the DNR.
“The problems in our waters didn’t happen overnight, and it will take a long-term approach to improve them,” said Patricia Boddy, DNR deputy director. “There are many water quality projects underway in the state and more planned. Iowans are working hard and we’re making progress.”
The impaired waters list must be updated every two years and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. The list is one category of a larger “integrated water quality report” that is designed to meet Clean Water Act requirements for state water quality assessment and listing.
The DNR will accept comments on the list through March 4. Comments can be submitted to John Olson, DNR, 502 East Ninth St., Des Moines, Iowa 50319. Or, comments can be e-mailed to [log in to unmask] The draft list and supporting materials are available on the DNR website at watershed.iowadnr.gov/impaired.html. Hard copies are available by contacting Olson at (515) 281-8905.
The DNR will consider the comments, make necessary revisions to the draft list and submit the revised list to the U.S. EPA for approval.
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IOWANS CREATE WATER QUALITY SUCCESSES IN 2010
DES MOINES — The efforts of Iowans in 2010 to improve Iowa’s lakes, rivers and streams have resulted in success stories across the state, and more efforts are underway for 2011. Working with groups statewide, including the Iowa DNR’s Watershed Improvement Program, Iowans are making changes on the land to improve our waters.
“People are banding together locally and regionally to lead efforts based on solid watershed and community research, and working with the DNR to develop comprehensive, long-term plans,” said Patricia Boddy, DNR deputy director. “Communities are seeing the results when drinking water sources are protected or a creek is a safer place for kids to play. Fishing, boating and hunting can improve too, which boosts tourism and quality of life.”
The DNR works with other state and federal agencies to help Iowans organize local watershed improvement efforts by providing technical and financial assistance to create long-term, comprehensive plans. With watershed management plans, local groups work with landowners and residents to make changes on the land in areas that can make the largest impact on water quality.
For example, the northeast Iowa community of West Union is undertaking a major renovation of its downtown to be more sustainable. A number of improvements, from rain gardens to prairie plantings, help soak up and filter rainfall rather than letting it runoff into storm sewers. This helps protect the fragile water quality in Otter and Glover creeks, both trout streams, and reduces water moving downstream. It also provides a number of other benefits to the community, from pedestrian safety to improved aesthetics.
“The floods of 2008 in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids were going on at the same time (as our project planning), and we asked, ‘where did this water come from?’ We saw we are a part of the contribution to urban stormwater issues downstream,” said Robin Bostrom, the executive director of the West Union Chamber of Commerce. “We still have work to do, but we know people want to be in a place where there are sustainable practices in place.”
Work is already underway to create the next round of success stories. The DNR is now accepting applications for Watershed Planning Grants, which help locally-led Iowa groups develop water quality improvement efforts.
The West Union story, as well as other success stories from 2010, are highlighted in “Working for Clean Water: 2010 Watershed Improvement Successes in Iowa,” a booklet available at watershed.iowadnr.gov/success.html.
For more information on the DNR’s watershed improvement efforts or on grant applications, contact Steve Hopkins at (515) 281-6402 or at [log in to unmask] or visit watershed.iowadnr.gov.
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Volunteers Wanted to Help Keep Track of Imperiled Wildlife
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Shepherd, (515) 432-2823 ext. 102, [log in to unmask]
It’s 10 p.m. on a summer night along a gravel road anywhere in Iowa. A raucous chorus of male frogs are making themselves heard as they vie for mates in the farm pond next to the road. A volunteer stands clipboard in hand, ear cocked, mentally sorting out each of the calling species and the number of individuals that might be using this seemingly ordinary pond.
Skip over to a Saturday morning by the river where another volunteer has binoculars trained on the tallest tree in the vicinity. In this tree is a one-ton nest, home to two bald eagles and their young. Are there two or three young in that nest? Hard to tell and a follow up visit will be needed; in the meantime, notes are taken and a peaceful half-hour is spent watching one of the most spectacular birds in North America.
Both of these volunteers were trained through Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program (VWMP). The state is big, the species are many, and the staff to monitor these species are few; volunteers are really crucial to ensure that these species remain stable. Every March and April, DNR staff travel around the state leading six training workshops, readying folks to collect data on some of Iowa’s critical wildlife. Participants in these workshops have begun a journey to become Certified Volunteer Wildlife Monitors and will be intrinsically involved in wildlife conservation in Iowa.
Two types of trainings are offered: one for folks interested in monitoring raptor or colonial water bird nesting sites and one for people more interested in performing a frog call survey. Raptors and Colonial Waterbirds (herons, egrets, night-herons and cormorants) are targeted because of their role as top predators and their dependence on particular habitats. Frogs and toads are also an important group for data collection because of their dependence on clean water and evidence of global decline among all amphibians. Volunteer monitors should have some tech savvy and computer and web access.
Each year an army of volunteers helps the DNR keep an eye (and ear) on these important resources. The Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program provides an opportunity for adults who love the outdoors and wildlife to be directly involved with the conservation and monitoring of Iowa’s resources. VWMP Bird workshops in 2011 will be held in Jackson, Palo Alto and Warren Counties in March and frog and toad survey trainings will be held in Wapello, Crawford and Warren Counties in April. Each workshop requires pre-registration and a $10 registration fee pays for training materials, a meal, subscription to a bi-annual newsletter, a frog and toad call CD or bird identification guide, and certification costs. Here are the times and locations:
Bird Nest Monitoring Workshops (Raptors and Colonial Waterbirds)
Anyone interested in being a Bald Eagle Nest Monitor must attend a training session.
March 5
Palo Alto County Conservation's Lost Island Nature Center, 3259 355th Ave., Ruthven
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
March 19
Warren County Conservation, Annett Nature Center, 15565 118th Ave., Indianola
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
March 26
Jackson County Conservation, Hurstville Interpretive Center, 18670 63rd St., Maquoketa
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Frog and Toad Call Survey Workshops
Anyone interested in participating in the Frog and Toad Call Survey must attend a training session.
April 6
Crawford County Conservation, Yellow Smoke Parks Environmental Education Center, 2237 Yellow Smoke Road, Denison
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
April 7
Warren County Conservation, Annett Nature Center, 15565 118th Ave., Indianola
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
April 13
Wapello County Conservation, Pioneer Ridge Nature Center; 1339 Highway 63, Bloomfield
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Mail your address, phone number, email address and $10 registration fee, as well as the date, location and type of training you desire, to Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program, Boone Wildlife Research Station, 1436 255th St., Boone, IA 50036. For more information and to obtain a registration form, go to http://www.iowadnr.com/wildlife/diversity/vwmp.html or contact Stephanie Shepherd, (515) 432-2823, ext. 102, [log in to unmask] .
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