What's being done to help Upper Catfish Creek?
Eric Schmechel, watershed project coordinator, can work with you to evaluate your property and identify
practices that can help both the creek and your property. Schmechel can also help find financial assistance
to install those practices. Landowners participating in the watershed project can generally get improved
financial assistance opportunities.
Landowners in the Upper Catfish Creek watershed can improve the creek by partnering
with the Upper Catfish Creek Watershed Project. Many urban conservation practices are already in place including native landscaping, permeable paving, infiltration trenches or basins, rain
gardens and septic system controls.
Conservation practices, such as bioswales, rain gardens and permeable pavement, help slow and filter
rain water as it runs off urban surfaces. As it runs across lawns and pavement, storm water can pick up
pollutants like soil, fertilizers, pet waste and oil. That storm water washes into storm sewers, which dump
the water into a local stream or lake without any treatment. Most urban conservation practices help storm water
soak directly into the ground rather than runoff into storm sewers.
Agricultural conservation practices are also visible in the Upper Catfish Creek watershed. These practices include
terraces, stripcropping, grade stabilization structures, grassed waterways, water and sediment control
basins, filter strips and streambank stabilization.
Terraces are an efficient practice in reducing soil erosion and sediment in the
Upper Catfish 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.
Stripcropping involves planting crops in a specific arrangement to combat wind and water erosion.
The crops are arranged so that a strip of sod or close-growing crop is alternated with a strip of row crops.
Grade stabilization structures are used to reduce water flows, protecting soil from gully erosion
or scouring.
Grassed waterways are also an effective practice in reducing soil erosion in the Upper Catfish Creek watershed. These
natural or constructed channels move surface water across the land without causing soil erosion. The vegetation in the
waterway slows the water, protecting the land from rill and gully erosion.
Water and sediment control basins are constructed across gullies
and trap sediment, resulting in less sediment and fewer pollutants reaching the creek.
Filter strips are strips of grass or other vegetation used to trap sediment (and pollutants attached to it) from runoff.
Streambank stabilization in the Upper Catfish Creek watershed involves protecting the streambank by using structural
or vegetative methods.
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What can I do to help?
Landowners, along with rural and urban residents, can consider installing conservation practices to control the amount of sediment,
nutrients and other pollutants reaching Upper Catfish Creek.
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.
Residents of Upper Catfish Creek can volunteer as part of IOWATER. Monitors collect
information on the levels of nitrates, nitrites, dissolved oxygen, pH, chloride and phosphate in the creek.
Some monitors also report on the water's temperature and color, and on biological life in the
monitoring area, which is often an indicator of water quality.
Monitors report their data to the IOWATER online database, where the public can view water
monitoring results from across the state at IOWATER.
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What is the future of Upper Catfish Creek?
One of only 32 streams in Iowa with trout reproducing naturally, Upper Catfish Creek must be maintained
in the years to come. Keeping sediment out of the creek is the key to creating an environment where trout eggs can
thrive. If excess sediment washes into the creek and covers the nest, it can cut off oxygen to the eggs, killing them.
With many urban and agricultural conservation practices already happening, reducing the amount of sediment,
the future looks bright for Upper Catfish Creek.
A success story: The rebirth of Iowa's trout streams (*.pdf)
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