07003-001 Clear Lake Watershed Final Report

(2010) 07003-001 Clear Lake Watershed Final Report. Agriculture and Land Stewardship

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Abstract

Clear Lake, Iowa's third largest natural lake, is a premier natural resource and popular recreational destination in north central Iowa. Despite the lake's already strong recreational use, water quality concerns have not allowed the lake to reach its full potential. Clear Lake is listed on Iowa's 2004 303(d) Impaired Waters List due to excessive levels of phosphorus, bacteria, and turbidity. Urban storm water runoff from the 8,600 acre watershed is a significant contributor to Clear Lake's impairment. Local communities have been working towards the goal of making improvements at all 30 storm water outlets that have a drainage area of five acres or more and have a cost effective solution. Many improvements have already been made, and now there are only seven storm water outlet sites remaining that still need protection in order to meet the goal. The storm water improvements have been very effective in reducing contaminants in urban runoff, achieving reduction levels in the 50-80% range. The proposed Clear Lake Storm Water Improvement Project will address the remaining seven outlet sites and take place over three years. The first year will consist of performing engineering and design of storm water best management practices (BMPs) at the seven outlet sites to determine if a cost effective solution exists for each. Years two and three will consist of installing two storm water improvements each year to implement the most cost effective BMPs at a minimum of four of the seven sites. The grant request addresses one of the main priorities of the Iowa Watershed Improvement Grant: storm water runoff.

Item Type: Departmental Report
Keywords: Watershed Improvement Review Board, WIRB, water quality, watershed, Hancock Soil and Water Conservation District, SWCD, Hancock County, Cerro Gordo County
Subjects: Natural resources and environment > Water resources > Water quality
Natural resources and environment > Water resources > Watersheds
ID Code: 21319
Deposited By: Jerome Neppel
Deposited On: 24 Feb 2016 14:27
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2016 14:27
URI: https://publications.iowa.gov/id/eprint/21319