Johnston wins environmental award for improving water quality

On Oct. 20, members of the American Planning Association Iowa chapter awarded the City of Johnston an Environmental Planning Award for its Watershed Assessment and Stormwater Management and Action Plan which has significantly improved stormwater management and water quality in our community.

City planners spent the past six years working on the following:

• Creating a plan to identify and protect a “green network” in newly developing areasRequiring the capture and infiltration of the water quality volume on developing sites
• Implementing a stormwater utility for dedicated funding, funding nearly $5.5 million in stormwater improvements to date
• Developing a water quality sampling program
• Implementing water quality features on numerous public improvement projects
• Implementing a homeowner grant program to fund stormwater improvements

“Since the adoption of the plan, a significant paradigm shift has occurred within the City and among property owners and developers on how they perceive, address and manage stormwater in our community.  Stormwater is no longer an afterthought. It is treated as a valuable resource and both the City and its residents are investing in improvements to water quality,” Community Development Director David Wilwerding said.

The City has invested in water quality improvement practices on nearly every public improvement project, including raingardens, bioswales, underground detention, rain barrels, impervious pavement, and a new intake design which serves as an infiltration chamber. In July, the City implemented a new homeowner grant program to fund stormwater improvements and within the first six weeks of the program, seven residential projects have already been funded.

The APA Environmental Planning award was given last night during a ceremony in Burlington. To learn more about how the City of Johnston is improving water quality, please visit cityofjohnston.com/stormwater today.