What's the problem with Muchakinock Creek?
Just as history plays an important role in our everyday lives, it affects our streams as well. History is just as important to Muchakinock Creek, located in Marion and Mahaska Counties. Muchakinock Creek appeared on Iowa's impaired waters list in 2002 because it fell below water quality standards set by the state for maintaining aquatic life. The stream starts near Pella and flows southeast past Leighton, Oskaloosa, Beacon and Eddyville before joining the Des Moines River.

In the late 1800s, Muchakinock was one of Iowa's first booming coal mining towns, boasting around 2,500 residents at its peak. But as the mines dried up, so did the town. Acid drainage and sediment from the mines continue to pollute, and today, more than half of the main channel of the Muchakinock Creek has been straightened, or channelized, beginning in its headwaters. This has sped up the water flow, and in turn, has sped up erosion. This erosion has led to reduced water depth and clarity, harmed aquatic life, clogged drainage ways and made the water more vulnerable to problems caused by nutrients.

Today, Muchakinock Creek is also threatened by sheet erosion, gully erosion and streambank erosion. Sheet erosion occurs when rainfall and runoff remove a thin layer of soil from the surface of the land. Rill erosion forms small channels with a concentrated flow of water on sloping fields, all contributing to poor water quality.

Gully erosion to Muchakinock Creek happens after heavy rains or snowmelts and creates water channels in the soil.

Streambank erosion happens when water in streams removes soil from the streambank. Problems begin when the water flow speeds up or water levels rise, increasing the rate of erosion.

Channelization or straightening the stream is another major threat to Muchakinock Creek as it speeds up water flow and erosion. Not only does it hurt aquatic life, it also has effects on human as well. A number of towns in the watershed have been damaged because of the increase in flooding. This results because the streambank has eroded faster than normal because more than half of the creek has been channelized, beginning at its headwaters.
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What's being done to help Muchakinock Creek?
Terraces, water and sediment control basins, conservation tillage and conservation buffers, along with filter strips along the creek, are just a few of the practices that make the future look bright for generations to come in Mahaska County.

Terraces are a very efficient practice in reducing soil erosion and sediment in the Muchakinock Creek watershed. Terraces are built around a hillside and either slow runoff and guide it to the bottom of the hill or collect runoff and store it until the runoff can be absorbed by the ground. Terraces must be properly designed and maintained to combat erosion.

The Muchakinock Creek Watershed Project has a high interest in water and sediment control basins. The basins trap runoff water and sediment before they can reach the stream. There are 189 basins planned for the watershed.

Landowners in Muchakinock Creek have practiced conservation tillage in the watershed also on land that drains into the creek. Conservation tillage protects against soil erosion from wind and water. Minimum tillage is already used in the watershed on some corn and soybean fields. No-till methods are used on approximately one-third of cropped fields, and currently soybeans are the preferred crop to use no-till methods on in the watershed.

The 120 acres of planned conservation buffers in the Muchakinock Creek watershed will slow sediment and filter runoff water before it reaches the stream. In addition, these buffers will reduce erosion from wind and provide habitat for wildlife.
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What can I do to help?
Landowners can consider installing conservation practices to control the amount of sediment, nutrients and other pollutants reaching Muchakinock Creek.

Others like students in the Oskaloosa Alternative School Program are volunteering with IOWATER, to monitor water quality in the watershed. Other local citizens have shown a great interest to create terraces along Muchakinock Creek and to use all funds that have been given to clean up the ecosystem.

Financial assistance is available, and the benefits extend beyond cleaner water - often conservation practices can produce financial benefits, create recreational opportunities and provide habitat for wildlife.
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What is the future for Muchakinock Creek?
Improving water quality is the main goal of the Muchakinock Creek Watershed Project, which plans to target the most erosion-prone areas in the watershed. The project will use GIS (Geographic Information Systems) mapping to identify areas in the watershed that need the most help.

In the spring of 2008, the watershed project sponsors hope to apply for another grant to work in the lower part of the watershed.
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Meet the project coordinator Matthew Lechtenberg grew up in Ossian, Iowa and attended Iowa State University. Lechtenberg majored in Agricultural Systems Technology and has worked as project coordinator in both Jones and Mitchell counties before becoming project coordinator in Mahaska County. "I enjoy working with farmers and seeing the innovative ways farmers can conserve our resources," said Lechtenberg.