Web-based Implementation of Winter Maintenance Decision Support System Using GIS and Remote Sensing, May 2005

Winter maintenance, particularly snow removal and the stress of snow removal materials on public structures, is an enormous budgetary burden on municipalities and nongovernmental maintenance organizations in cold climates. Lately, geospatial technologies such as remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and decision support tools are roviding a valuable tool for planning snow removal operations. A few researchers recently used geospatial technologies to develop winter maintenance tools. However, most of these winter maintenance tools, while having the potential to address some of these information needs, are not typically placed in the hands of planners and other interested stakeholders. Most tools are not constructed with a nontechnical user in mind and lack an easyto-use, easily understood interface. A major goal of this project was to implement a web-based Winter Maintenance Decision Support System (WMDSS) that enhances the capacity of stakeholders (city/county planners, resource managers, transportation personnel, citizens, and policy makers) to evaluate different procedures for managing snow removal assets optimally. This was accomplished by integrating geospatial analytical techniques (GIS and remote sensing), the existing snow removal asset management system, and webbased spatial decision support systems. The web-based system was implemented using the ESRI ArcIMS ActiveX Connector and related web technologies, such as Active Server Pages, JavaScript, HTML, and XML. The expert knowledge on snow removal procedures is gathered and integrated into the system in the form of encoded business rules using Visual Rule Studio. The system developed not only manages the resources but also provides expert advice to assist complex decision making, such as routing, optimal resource allocation, and monitoring live weather information. This system was developed in collaboration with Black Hawk County, IA, the city of Columbia, MO, and the Iowa Department of transportation. This product was also demonstrated for these agencies to improve the usability and applicability of the system.

Commercial Driver's License in a Nutshell, March 2009

Federal law requires uniform licensing of truck and bus drivers (CDL) in all states and the District of Columbia. Commercial Driver's License (CDL) testing and issuance began in Iowa November 1, 1990. A person applying for a license to operate a commercial motor vehicle must apply for a CDL.

2000 Iowa Termination of Pregnancy Report, May 1, 2002

This report is a compilation of data on reported terminations of pregnancy in Iowa. These are terminations that actually occurred during the period from January 2000 through December 2000. The annual reporting of termination of pregnancy events is required by state legislation. With this legislative requirement, Iowa joins the other 49 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City in providing information that relates to issues of pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, live births, and fetal deaths (1). This information contributes to the ability of public health officials and policy makers to better understand these issues. The Iowa reporting system is a variation on the model published by the National Center for Health Statistics in 1987 (2). These guidelines described the criteria and expectations for reporting pregnancy information.

09028-014 Tributary B to Fourmile Creek Final Report

The city of Ankeny is submitting this WIRB application for development of green urban stormwater practices on city and private property in the Fourmile Creek watershed. The stormwater project proposed includes stream restoration of the SE Tributary to Fourmile Creek (Tributary B), including weirs, bank shaping, toe protection, trees, and native plantings. The project also includes the creation of a native buffer along the stream channel in the city’s Summerbrook Park, installing four native planting beds, installing a pervious surface trail, installing a series of rain gardens/biorentention cells, and installing educational signage. Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District has committed $17,000 towards the native buffer and rain garden/biorentention cell. The city of Ankeny was also awarded a $100,000 I-JOBS grant from IDNR to complete the stormwater retrofit practices. The largest component of this project is public education. Our vision for this project is to take the entire 281 acre watershed and address it as a whole. We want to make a collaborative watershed that not only addresses the water entering the stream channel through adjacent properties, but takes each individual parcel within the watershed and strives to reduce contributions to the stormwater system. The stormwater issues of concern for Tributary B include stormwater volume, sediment, and nutrients. The stream restoration, best management practices (BMP) at Summerbrook Park, and BMPs on private property should help decrease the volume of stormwater and reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients that enter Tributary B and ultimately Fourmile Creek.

08006-003 East Okoboji Beach Final Report

East Okoboji Beach was platted on April 20, 1961 and includes over 90.4 acres with 489 lots. The East Okoboji Beach project includes a complete storm water discharge system, which includes low impact development and reconstruction of the roadways in East Okoboji Beach. The East Okoboji Beach Project is an enormous project that is the first Dickinson County project to retrofit LID practices, lake-friendly storm-water drainage systems and roadway reconstruction throughout an existing sub- division. This cooperative project between DNR, Dickinson County, and EOB landowners includes engineering retention ponds, rain gardens, bio-swales and other LID practices to reduce nutrient and sediment pollutants flowing directly into East Okoboji. The nature of the problem stems back to that original plat where small lots were platted and developed without planning for storm water discharge. There was no consideration of the effects of filling in and developing over the many wetland areas existing in EOB. The scope of the problem covers the entire 90.4 acres in East Okoboji Beach, the DNR owned land and the farmed land to the east. The nature of the problem stems from storm water runoff flowing throughout the watershed and into East Okoboji Beach where it flows down self-made paths and then into East Lake Okoboji. That storm water runoff dumps nutrient and sediment pollutions directly into East Lake Okoboji. The expected result of this project is a new roadway and drainage system constructed with engineering that is intended to protect East Lake Okoboji and the land and homes in East Okoboji Beach. The benefit will be the improvement in the waters and the reduction of the siltation in the East Lake Okoboji.

1016-010 Iowa Great Lakes Watershed Final Report

Part of a phased approach, an intensive information and education program, construction of erosion control practices, and sediment control on construction sites is proposed. These proposed practices will manage sediment runoff and nutrient runoff on agricultural and urban areas. Sediment control “structures” such as waterways, wetlands, modified terraces, grade stabilization structures, sediment basins, and rain gardens is proposed and will be combined with nutrient and pesticide management and reduced tillage to reduce non-point source pollution. A reduction of 15% of the sediment and phosphorus delivered to a water body from priority areas will be looked at as a success in this short-term project focused primarily at education within the project area which is also, for the most part, the top 25% sediment load producing sub-watersheds. In addition, four urban areas have been identified as part of this project as needing immediate assistance. A combination of urban and agricultural conservation practices, shoreline revegetation, and education of landowners will be used to achieve these results on both the urban and the agricultural arena.

06017-009 Saylor Creek Watershed Final Report

With the Saylor Creek Watershed Improvement Project, Iowa Heartland RC&D and other area stakeholders have an opportunity to display how "best management practices" (BMPs) can reduce storm water runoff and improve the quality of that runoff in an urban setting. Conservation design is a uew approach to storm water management that addresses the negative impacts of storm water runoff and turns them into a positive. The master plan for the Prairie Trail development surrounding the watershed project will incorporate bioretention cells, bioswales, buffer strips, rain gardens, as well as native plant landscaping to slow storm water runoff and naturally clean sediment out of the water before it reaches Saylor Creek. In addition to conservation design elements, the project will utilize storm water detention ponds and creek bed restoration to develop a complete storm water "treatment train" system within Prairie Trail. The extensive use of conservation storm water management for Prairie Trail is unique for urban development in Iowa.

05028-010 Urban Watershed of Dickinson Cty Lakes Final Report

The Dickinson SWCD is applying for $486,800 over three years from the Watershed Improvement Fund to enhance water quality in Dickinson County through an impairment-based, locally directed watershed improvement project dealing specifically with storm water runoff. The LID Project will provide a cost share incentive and technical expertise to individual and business owners in specially targeted districts who are willing to implement low impact development techniques such as rain gardens, bioswales, pervious paving to reduce storm water runoff from their properties. Goals for the project include: 1) Defining and prioritizing urban watersheds in the Iowa Great Lakes region for implementation of Low Impact Development Practices; 2) Providing technical expertise in the form of a graduate assistant/project manager to design and oversee construction; 3) Continuing public education of such practices and their local existence through project kiosk, brochures, County Naturalist programs, local cable television shows, tours and other interactions of the Clean Water Alliance with its 50 partners in the area concerned about water quality; and 4) Completing 125 separate projects over a three year period.

05017-006 Lake Storm Lake Watershed Final Report

This project will include the construction of four separate drainage and retention facilities to handle urban runoff that currently flows directly into Lake Storm Lake. These facilities will filter storm water from approximately 503 acres of urban land including two large industrial users Tyson Fresh Meats and Sara Lee Turkey Processing as well as other commercial and residential sections that currently go directly to the lake without filtration. Specifically the project involves the construction of a two cell dry bottomed detention pond system, construction of two rain gardens/bio retention areas, construction of rain gardens along storm water intakes on Highway 7, and construction of a porous rock detention area. The completed project will provide for cleaner water outleting to the fake in an area that has the largest potential for pollutants to enter the lake. This project is being done in conjunction with other watershed improvements including two additional rain gardens already in place and a multi-year dredging effort of Lake Storm Lake that will be starting its fifth year in 2006. Improvements in the rural water shed are also taking place with the help of a watershed coordinator. Some of these projects include buffer strips and filter slips along the waterways in the watershed.

05018-007 Storm Lake Watershed Final Report

The enclosed project request for funding will address needed conservation work within the Storm Lake Watershed. The proposed conservation practices and activities have been planned for several years but due to funding limitations have not been completed. These innovative practices will address some of the remaining and hard to address problem areas of sediment and nutrient loading within the watershed. The four goals of this project are: installation of four in-stream Boulder Weirs, planting of native grasses around ten surface intakes, completion of three urban rain gardens and hiring of a part-time Iowater monitoring coordinator. Through the new Awaysis destination park project Storm Lake is truly placing a high value on our watershed and lake as a major asset to the area. Awaysis is a $30 million project that's success will hinge on maintaining the highest standards in regard to the water quality of the lake and its watershed.