urban CONSERVATION practices

Urban conservation is practiced on a small-scale by individual homeowners and also on a much larger scale but businesses and municipalities. It has expanded significantly in the past decade as more Iowans who live and work in cities and suburbs have become interested and engaged in stewardship projects and activities. Many of the larger urban conservation projects are aimed at improving and protecting water quality.

Urban areas have many impervious surfaces, such as streets, rooftops, parking lots, etc., which can’t soak up rain. During storms, rainwater and pollutants drain off these surfaces to storm drains, which ultimately flows to streams and lakes. Stormwater also damages stream channels, pollutes water sources and causes flooding.

Residential and urban landscapes generate runoff with almost every rainfall event. Conservation measures, many of which are highlighted in the Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater Management brochure, capture and infiltrate stormwater and reduce a property's contribution to water quality degradation, flashy stream flows and flooding.

Communities benefit from urban conservation in installing new systems and retrofitting existing infrastructure so that water will be captured and treated as it moves off streets, keeping soil and pollutants out of our waterways. By implementing Iowa Stormwater Management Manual guidelines and principles, which are outlined in the the Stormwater Strategies for Communities brochure, communities of all sizes can improve water quality and reduce water quantity challenges.

Helping homeowners and urban landowners improve water quality

In Iowa, rainfall averages anywhere from 28-36 inches per year. An acre of land, in town or the country, will receive anywhere from 760,000 to 977,500 gallons of rain in a typical year.

Current storm water management efforts focus on moving the water away as quickly as possible. The result is litter and pollutants being washed into a storm drain and being carried to the nearest river, lake or stream during each and every rainfall. It also creates rushes of water that result in dramatic changes in stream levels that contribute to stream bank erosion and even flash flooding.

It is important for all Iowans to take steps to better manage the rain that falls on their property, with a focus on preventing runoff and promoting infiltration. One step is to use the Unified Sizing Criteria, a comprehensive approach to stormwater management systems, which uses measurement standards to meet flooding, health, safety and water quality goals. These criteria are used to design these best management practices that meet desired treatment objectives. See the Unified Sizing Criteria brochure for more information.

The practices listed below are the best practices for preventing runoff and promoting infiltration.

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Contact US

To reach the Urban Conservation team with general inquiries, or to be added to our email list for the latest updates on ISWMM guidelines and current activities, please call one of the individuals below or email urbanconservation@iowaagriculture.gov