Remsen source water protection project : agreement no. 8025-015 between the Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board and the City of Remsen final report.

This final report to the Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board by the City of Remsen Utilities consists of accomplishments made by the Remsen Utilities as per this agreement. The City of Remsen Utilities did in fact purchase approximately 27 acres of land lying upstream of the city’s water well field. The land was purchased from Mr. Larry Rodesch and Mr. Rich Harpenau for the purpose of removing nitrates from Remsen’s water source and establishing native prairie grasses to assist in this removal.

06033-015 Fox River Watershed Final Report

With WIRB funding the Fox River Ecosystem Development board will install prioritized practices identified by assessments within the impaired segment of Fox River that currently will not be funded by Iowa Section 319 or Watershed Protection Funds. The FRED board is also asking for funding for a three year position for continuing assessment, planning, and technical assistance. Through various funding sources local work groups have been able to address some of the critical and high priority areas. But, as further assessments are made, commitment, and need expressed from landowners grow, the FRED board and SWCD districts in both Iowa and Missouri are committed not only to seek funding to continue water quality efforts for more practices but also enhance and protect existing practices and investments that protect our water quality and economic viability in both states.

09029-015 Otter Creek Watershed Final Report

The City of West Union has been selected by Iowa Department of Economic Development as a Green Pilot Community. A major project within this designation is the reconstruction of the downtown business district public infrastructure in a sustainable, innovative, and replicable way. A key component of this project is replacement of the impermeable street and sidewalk surfacing with a porous paver system. This system, along with bio-retention cells in intersection bumpouts and sidewalk planters, will infiltrate, then cleanse and cool the storm water prior to a very slow discharge rate to Otter Creek. The project area will see a 95% reduction in peak discharge rate for a 100 year storm and a 20% reduction in runoff volume. West Union is located within the Otter Creek watershed, a designated cold water trout stream just below the city. Fayette County Soil and Water Conservation District and IDNR consider improvement of the water quality of Otter Creek to be very important. This reconstruction of downtown West Union in a sustainable manner will be the start of an overall Otter Creek watershed improvement project.

07040-015 Saylor Creek Watershed Final Report

Phase 2 of the Saylor Creek Improvement Project is focused on channel restoration. The existing stream channel is generally incised, running through areas primarily covered with heavy trees, brush and weeds. The ravine ranges from 6 to 20 feet deep through the corridor with very steep slopes in several areas. In two areas storm outlets are undercut or suspended above the channel. Tall undercut, eroded banks exist along several of the outside bends. Sediment deposition on the inside bends limits the cross-section of the channel, increasing flow velocity and forcing this faster flow toward the eroded outside bank. A wide array of practices will need to be implemented to address channel erosion. Improvements will be specifically tailored to address problems observed at each bend. The result will be a channel with a more natural appearance, and reduced use of hard armor and revetment. Some sections will require minimal grading with removal of underbrush for improved maintenance access and more sun exposure, better allowing deep­ rooted plants and flowers to establish to provide further erosion protection. Straight sections with steep banks will require grading to pull back slopes, increasing the creek's capacity to convey storm flows at slower velocities. Sections with sharp bends will require slope pull back and armor protection. A constructed wetland will collect and treat runoff from a small sub-watershed, before being discharged into the main tributary.

08025-015 Remsen Source Water Protection Final Report

The City of Remsen is proactively addressing an increase of nitrates in their public water supply before it becomes a financial catastrophe for them. An intensive assessment was conducted by the Iowa DNR Source Water Protection program as one of four pilot projects in the state. This assessment far surpassed standard desktop assessments and gathered monitoring information in-the-field led by a local watershed group. This was incorporated into a computer modeling program to help the local watershed group discuss alternatives. This comprehensive approach clearly identified the source of nitrate infiltration as a cropland area adjacent to the City well field. Many options were evaluated but only one option provided an economical, viable and secure answer to the water supply needs of Remsen for generations to come. The watershed planning group chose to seek the purchase of this critical area of cropland and convert it to a deep rooted mixture of native grasses. This WIRB funding is intended to be used to acquire a small area totaling 21.1 acres. It represents about 22% of the total local project effort. This will be added to the existing City well field of 40.2 acres and another piece of adjacent property, 35.34 acres, that the City recently acquired as part of an overall aggressive program to protect the community water supply. The City has a signed purchase agreement for 14.4 acres of the 21.1 and a strong verbal commitment to obtain the remaining 5.7 acres. This project has been very active for almost 2 years and is ready to implement immediately upon funding notification. The establishment of native grasses, funded by the local chapter of Pheasants Forever, will take approximately the next three years of operation & maintenance.

05040-015 Viking Lake Watershed Final Report

Viking Lake State Park is beautiful resource which has been special to residents of Southwest Iowa and visitors from around the region. Unfortunately, Viking Lake itself is being impacted by non-point source pollution. Water quality conditions are becoming the reason that visitors are shying away from the park instead of flocking to it. To combat these non-point source problems the Viking Lake Water Quality Project has been initiated and $327,000 has been allocated through the Section 319/WSPF Program which will address water quality concerns in the watershed. Additionally, IDNR Fisheries is preparing for an entire renovation of Viking Lake in 2006. One funding gap remains, that may prevent this comprehensive water quality project from achieving a successful endpoint. Funds are still needed for the renovation of malfunctioning septic systems at Viking Village housing development which is adjacent to the park, and has been identified as a primary source of contamination entering the lake. The intent of this application is to secure funds so that these septic system problems can be corrected and water quality conditions of this important natural resource restored for public enjoyment.

Review of Automated Vehicle Technology: Policy and Implementation Implications; Version 1.0; RB28-015, 2016

This report provides recommendations for the state of Iowa over the next five years in regards to automated vehicle policy development. These administrative, planning, legal, and community strategy recommendations for government agencies include: • Encouraging automation by preparing government agencies, infrastructure, leveraging procurement, and advocating for safety mandates • Adjusting long range planning processes by identifying and incorporating a wide range of new automation scenarios • Beginning to analyze and, as necessary, clarify existing law as it apples to automated driving • Auditing existing law • Enforcing existing laws • Ensuring vehicle owners and operators bear the true cost of driving • Embracing flexibility by giving agencies the statutory authority to achieve regulatory goals through different means, allowing them to make small-scale exemptions to statutory regimes and clarifying their enforcement discretion • Thinking locally and preparing publicly • Sharing the steps being taken to promote (as well as to anticipate and regulate) automated driving • Instituting public education about automated vehicle technologies.

The Growth and Direction of the Biodiesel Industry in the United States, 2007

The biodiesel industry in the United States has realized significant growth over the past decade through large increases in annual production and production capacity and a transition from smaller batch plants to larger-scale continuous producers. The larger, continuous-flow plants provide operating cost advantages over the smaller batch plants through their ability to capture co-products and reuse certain components in the production process. This paper uses a simple capital budgeting model developed by the authors along with production data supplied by industry sources to estimate production costs, return-on-investment levels, and break-even conditions for two common plant sizes (30 and 60 million gallon annual capacities) over a range of biodiesel and feedstock price levels. The analysis shows that the larger plant realizes returns to scale in both labor and capital costs, enabling the larger plant to pay up to $0.015 more per pound for the feedstock to achieve equivalent return levels as the smaller plant under the same conditions. The paper contributes to the growing literature on the biodiesel industry by using the most current conversion rates for the production technology and current price levels to estimate biodiesel production costs and potential plant performance, providing a useful follow-up to previous studies.

Vital Statistics of Iowa, 2010

This publication is an historical recording of the most requested statistics on vital events and is a source of information that can be used in further analysis.