Indian Creek Watershed Receives Iowa Department of Natural Resources Grant for Educational Awareness

The Indian Creek Watershed Management Authority (ICWMA) is working to connect residents with their local waterways through the installation of new watershed signs. ICWMA received an Iowa Department of Natural Resources grant to expand its creek sign outreach effort, which has resulted in 127 signs being installed at 39 locations across the watershed.

These signs, now visible in Alburnett, Hiawatha, Cedar Rapids, Marion, Robins, Linn County, and Linn County Conservation parks, help residents recognize when they are entering the Indian Creek Watershed and understand their role in protecting water quality. The project was made possible through strong partnerships, with public works and secondary road crews from each jurisdiction committing in-kind labor to install the signs.

"Raising awareness and helping people form a connection with their local watershed/waterbody is a key component of real and lasting change," said Linn County Soil Health Coordinator Marissa Cartwright.

How You Can Protect Local Waterways

A watershed is the area that drains to a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, aquifer, or ocean. The land that drains to the waterway affects the water quality. Since we all live in a watershed, it is a community effort to protect it. Here are the things you can do to help protect the water quality in your community:

• Keep waste out of drainage areas
• Pick up litter
• Minimize use of pesticides
• Plant native species
• Properly dispose of hazardous waste

About the Indian Creek Watershed Management Authority

The Indian Creek Watershed Management Authority (ICWMA) within Linn County was one of the first WMAs in Iowa (est. 2012) and is the collaboration of six member organizations, including Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Marion, Robins, Linn County, and the Linn County Soil and Water District. Approximately 65,000 Linn County residents live in the rapidly developing watershed, which is two-thirds rural and one-third urban and includes over 10 miles of pedestrian and biking trails along Indian Creek and its tributaries. The tributaries of Indian Creek include Dry Creek, Wanatee Creek, Berrys Run, East Indian Creek, and Willowood Creek.

To learn more about the Indian Creek WMA, visit www.indiancreekwma.org.