The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is awarding nearly $2.7 million in matching grants to 14 urban water quality projects across the state.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig made the announcement Monday in West Des Moines at one of the project sites: Legacy Woods Nature Sanctuary.
“I hope it will inspire folks who spend time here to consider what they might do on their own property. But also, other cities can come and see how this can be incorporated into the landscape,” Naig said.
Public and private dollars are funding several water quality features at the park, including two bioretention cells. The shallow depressions collect and filter stormwater with the help of native plants, a specific soil mix and a bottom layer of rock.
Ann Seda, an urban conservationist with IDALS, said a stormwater wetland will collect overflow in bigger rain events.
“And there again, the water will be treated to get the nitrogen uptake in that wetland before it discharges to Jordan Creek and then further downstream to the Raccoon River,” Seda said.
Since 2015, cost-share grants through the state’s Water Quality Initiative have supported 140 urban projects. They must include education and outreach components and involve local partners to receive state funding and technical assistance.
“There's certainly more work to do, but we're seeing progress towards achieving our nutrient reduction strategy goals. Projects like this make a difference,” Naig said.
Other 2025 projects are based in Algona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Cedar Rapids, Clear Lake, Clinton, Decorah, Des Moines, Dunlap, Durant, Evansdale, Mount Ayr and Oskaloosa.
Legacy Woods celebrates nature and history
“Our mission is to provide our community everyday enjoyment through people, parks and programs. Legacy Woods is our latest example of doing that,” said Ryan Penning, director of parks and recreation for West Des Moines.
The city purchased the nearly 20-acre property last year to turn a former church camp into a public space that celebrates nature and history. It’s part of a larger project with the adjacent Jordan House Museum, which was a station for the underground railroad and a pre-Civil War cemetery.
“We’re looking for this site to be really a regional draw for culture, history, natural resources,” said Eric Doll, a park planner with the city of West Des Moines.
Doll said they planted an arboretum with over 70 species of different native trees and shrubs. The water quality features will be added over the next year, along with trails, a nature playscape and shelter.
A new facility next to the museum will offer space for events, exhibits and to learn heritage crafts, like textile weaving, furniture making and block printing.
The city of West Des Moines has partnered with West Des Moines Community Foundation and the West Des Moines Historical Society on the project.
