How Stormwater Management Can Support Solutions to Iowa's Water Quality Crisis

Iowa is facing a water quality and cancer crisis, and Iowans we hear from want to know what they can do to help solve it. The most impactful action folks can take is to advocate for policy changes that address the major sources of pollution in our state: the corporate agricultural and industrial sectors. Beyond advocating for change, folks sometimes want to know how to align choices they make in their personal lives with these policies. In a recent post on the IEC blog, I shared how fall lawn clean-up practices can play a role in protecting our shared water resources. Another opportunity to make a difference at home is to make our properties more resilient to heavy rainfall events. 

In built environments like urban and suburban areas, stormwater management is a key piece of protecting shared water resources. What makes stormwater management so important, yet challenging? Streets, sidewalks, and other paved spaces are not permeable, and often, soil in residential areas is highly compacted. This means that rainfall, especially during heavy rainfall events, which are happening more frequently, flows into storm sewer systems that discharge into rivers and streams without treatment. The runoff can carry pollutants – like pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, bacteria from septic systems and animal waste, gasoline and oil from vehicles, and more – directly into Iowa rivers and streams. 

How can urban and suburban residents play a role in protecting Iowa's waterways? One way is through "rainscaping," or implementing landscaping practices that capture water where it falls and allow it to filter through the soil. In addition to reducing flood risks and improving water quality, many of these practices have the added benefits of providing habitat for pollinators and of being beautiful! 

One practice that is effective in managing stormwater is rain gardens. These are native plant gardens planted in shallow depressions. According to the Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership, rain gardens are most effective when they're located ten feet or more from a built structure's foundation. Water runs through downspouts, collects in the basin, and filters slowly through the soil, rather than running off into stormwater systems and potentially carrying dangerous chemicals into waterways. 

Urban prairie strips, like rain gardens, use native plants to improve stormwater management. These buffer strips are often planted along property lines, and are particularly effective near bodies of water, like creeks. The roots of plants recommended for use in prairie strips extend five to ten feet into the soil, improving the soil's ability to hold and filter rainwater. 

While practices like rain gardens and urban buffer strips are typically limited to relatively small areas in a lawn, planting native turfgrass is a way to use an entire lawn to improve a property's ability to absorb stormwater. Typical species of grass used in lawns have short root structures, which do not provide much water filtration capacity and don’t effectively support biodiversity or better soil health. Native turfgrass blends have stronger root structures, and some have the added benefit of requiring less frequent mowing!  

Many communities across Iowa, such as the City of Des Moines, have programs designed to support residents in implementing these practices for managing stormwater. Des Moines' Stormwater Best Management Program incentivizes residents to install rain gardens, rain barrels, and native landscaping; stabilize streambanks; and restore soil quality. Through the program, residents can receive a 50% rebate on the cost of approved projects, up to $2,000.  

While addressing the major drivers of our state's water and health crises will require coordinated policy change, residents in urban and suburban areas can contribute to the solution through these stormwater practices. To be notified of opportunities to advocate for policy solutions, sign up for the IEC newsletter.