REMAP - A Probabilistic Survery of Iowa's Perennial Rivers and Streams, 2007

This monthly report from the Iowa Department of Transportation is about the water quality management of Iowa's rivers, streams and lakes.

A Research Report on Roadside Vegetation Management, December 1975

According to prevailing ecological theory one would expect the most stable vegetation on sites which are least disturbed (Odum 1971). According to theory one would also expect the most diversity of species on undisturbed sites (Odum 1971). This stable and diverse community would be produced over a period of many years through a process of plant succession where annual herbs are replaced by perennial herbs and finally woody plants would come to dominate and perpetuate the community. Another ecological theory holds that the complexity (structure and species diversity) of a plant community is dependent upon the amount of disturbance to which it is subjected (Woodwell, 1970). According to this theory the normal succession of a plant community through its various stages may be arrested at some point depending upon the nature and severity of the disturbance. In applying these theories to roadside vegetation it becomes apparent that mass herbicide spraying and extensive mowing of roadsides has produced a relatively simple and unstable vegetation. It follows that if disturbances were reduced not only would the roadside plant community increase in stability but maintenance costs and energy usage would be reduced. In this study we have investigated several aspects of reduced disturbances on roadside vegetation. Research has centered on the effectiveness of spot spraying techniques on noxious weed control, establishment of native grass cover where ditch cleaning and other disturbance has left the bare soil exposed and the response of roadside vegetation when released from annual mass spraying.

Indian Creek Channel: the evolution & significance of an historic public works administration flood control facility, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 2010

Plagued for nearly a century by the perennial flooding of Indian Creek, the City begins construction on a massive channelization project designed to confine the creek to its banks. Funded largely through a grant from the recently established Public Works Administration (PWA), the Indian Creek Channel, upon its completion two years later, would become the largest PWA undertaking in the State of Iowa. Though it did not completely end flooding in Council Bluffs, construction of the Indian Creek Channel did substantially reduce both the number and severity of the city's subsequent floods. It also profoundly impacted the residential and commercial development of Council Bluffs, as well as the city's sanitary conditions. The effects of the Indian Creek channelization, both practical and historical, are still realized today. In 2009, plans for a City road and bridge construction project at the intersection of North Broadway Street and Kanesville Boulevard proposed to replace a 221-foot-long segment of the Indian Creek Channel with a concrete box culvert. In compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, a cultural resources study was conducted at the proposed construction site, the findings of which concluded that the historic character of the Indian Creek Channel would be compromised by the impending construction. As a means of mitigating these damages, an agreement was reached among the City, the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, and the Federal Highway Administration that resulted in detailed research and documentation of the historical significance of the Indian Creek Channel. The findings of that study are summarized in this publication.