Greenbelt Stormwater Improvement and Demonstration Project
2022
About
Grant award
$96,000
Total project
$199,000
Description
The City of Decorah is implementing strategically located urban stormwater conservation practices to improve water quality in the city by infiltrating runoff from existing industrial and new development sites. In a region with challenging landscape characteristics for water infiltration, these projects are cost efficient and function to maximize the water quality and quantity benefits for the community. A proposed constructed wetland located upstream of the City, within Winneshiek County Conservation Board’s Dry Run Greenbelt area, will help capture runoff from an adjacent industrial area and serve as a major destination point for a planned recreational Dry Run Trail.
Additionally, Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center in Decorah will implement a bio-retention system in the southwest corner of the property. It will treat runoff from a portion of a large parking area needed to accommodate visitors and staff at the Discovery Center, filtering and treating runoff before it is released to waters downstream.
Finally, the city will implement 35 acres of native landscaping along the Upper Iowa River in Decorah as a form of floodplain management. The proposed native landscaping project will improve the floodplain by establishing a deep-rooted prairie plant community that will help reduce bank erosion while providing increased infiltration.
Conservation Practices
