City of Lake Park

The City of Lake Park chose to install a rain garden and also restore a city park shoreline back to native prairie. Both practices will reduce the amount of pollutants from getting into Silver Lake and will result in clean water for the community. Both practices were used to help educate the public on what they can be done to do their part in water quality.

Q. What water quality practices do you use?
A. A curb cut rain garden was installed in May 2013. Also in the fall of 2013, native prairie grasses and forbs were seeding along the City Park shoreline to help reduce the banks from collapsing into the lake.

Q. Why did you voluntarily adopt these practices?
A. Many conservation practices done within the Silver Lake Watershed were rural practices and the City of Lake Park wanted to do their part and also help educate those in town on what they could do to better water quality within Silver Lake. Silver Lake is a great asset to Lake Park and the community wants to be a part of protecting it. Both projects were a great success and many members of the community wanted to install these practices on their properties.

Q. What, if any, assistance (financial as well as technical) did you receive to employ these practices?
A. Many groups and organizations helped come together to make both projects possible: Silver Lake Watershed Project, The City of Lake Park, Silver Lake Park Improvement Association, DNR Section 319, Water Quality Commission, Harris-Lake Park Community School District, 4 Evergreen Landscape and Design, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, NRCS, Dickinson, and Osceola Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Q. What is your environmental philosophy?
A. Silver Lake is a great asset to Lake Park and the community wants to be a part of protecting it. Both projects had a lot of community involvement. The Silver Lake Watershed Project hosted a day were the community could come and help build a rain garden. Many people showed up to see how it was done and help be a part of.

The Shoreline Restoration project had a fun spin on conservation allowing goats to clear the shoreline before seeding took place. These goats brought a lot of people together to learn more about a Native Prairie Shoreline Restoration Project in a fun new way.