Managing Iowa Acreages: Retain Your Rain

So you’ve made that move to the country. You’ve no doubt designed a homestead that is comfortable, functional and adaptable to lifelong needs. You have established systems for water, electricity, mail delivery and have a septic system design. You may have developed an outdoor living area which includes a deck or patio, planned your driveway, and even constructed an outdoor burning and recycling system.

But have you developed a storm water management plan? The average rainfall in Iowa is 32 inches per year. What does that mean for your acreage? A one-inch rain event on one acre of land is 27,150 gallons of water that somehow needs to be managed. Multiply that one-inch rainfall by 32 inches per year and you have 868,844 gallons of water falling on just one acre of your property. Developing a storm water management plan will help ensure that your property remains the beautiful setting  you designed.

What can you do?

Now is the time for you to take responsibility for the rain that falls on your property. In urban areas, storm water is traditionally directed to surface waters via storm sewers, mainly to control flooding. On your acreage, however, the main objective should be to protect water quality. That can be accomplished by:

• Retaining water on-site.
• Mimicking the hydrology of the native ecosystems.
• Infiltrating more rainfall.
• Shedding less water to surface waters.

Practices you can adopt to allow water infiltration:

Restore Soil Quality. This refers to the ability of soil to perform its functions. Soil is important in managing storm water runoff and in supporting trees, shrubs, lawns and gardens. To maintain soil quality, it is important to not leave the soil bare, exposed to wind and water, which causes erosion. Compaction is another aspect of soil quality. Lack of pore space in the soil reduces water intake and movement through its layers. Increasing and maintaining organic matter content is the other key aspect of soil quality. Organic matter gives the soil the ability to absorb and hold rainfall so it can infiltrate into the soil. To restore soil quality:  

• Increase organic matter content in the soil. Compost, or decomposed organic material, is a great source of organic matter.
• Establish vegetation to cover bare soil.
• Use native landscaping strategically to manage rainfall and diversify the landscape. Natives have a deep root architecture that increases infiltration.
• Perform deep tillage or deep tined aeration, if you have compacted soils.

Rain Gardens. Rain gardens are concave gardens landscaped with perennial flowers and native vegetation that soak up rain water. They are strategically located to capture storm water runoff. Rain gardens fill with a few inches of water after a storm and then water filters into the ground.

Bioswales. Bioswales are areas of native vegetation that can take the place of road ditches or low-lying areas in your yard. They have the ability to infiltrate low flow events, but can also convey high flow events. Deep-rooted native plants will allow for better water infiltration. Before planting native vegetation in road ditches, contact a roadside vegetation manager or county engineer, since road ditches are usually state or county property.

Perform a Rain Water Audit

Become familiar with the amount of water that falls on your property and how much runs off during an average rain event. Fill out a rain water audit at www.jcswcd.org.

The rain water audit asks a series of questions about your property, including size, layout, lawn care practices and vegetation. Once you have familiarized yourself with landscaping features that can improve water quality and quantity, you can then return to the rain water audit and run the model with your new features in place.

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