UNI Wetland EarthCache
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The coordinates will take you to the north end of the UNI Dome parking lot where you can view the University of Northern Iowa Wetland Demonstration Park.
Every step we take on Earth is part of at least one, if not several watersheds. Water that falls from the sky or reaches the surface from groundwater eventually travels to a common outlet – either a larger body of water or back into the ground again. Gravity helps determine the final path for this water, but we also play a part in where this water goes. People play an important role in determining both the amount of water that reaches these final destinations, as well as the quality and content of that water upon arrival.
The UNI Wetland Demonstration Park is an area where we can witness the physical act of water “shedding” from upstream land used in different ways and compare differences in both volume of runoff and water quality as a result of these different land uses. We also have the unique opportunity to learn from data and research as this area transforms into a constructed wetland, outdoor recreation area and premier water research facility.
The physical infrastructure of the Wetland Demonstration Park was initially a collaborative project between the City of Cedar Falls and the University of Northern Iowa, including the School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, Wellness & Recreation Services, and the Office of Facilities Planning. The project's inception occurred as part of a larger watershed-wide effort to develop water quality improvement projects throughout the City of Cedar Falls.
The primary function of the area is to serve as a runoff management system (aka: volume control). Water from the three drainage areas during storm events can lead to substantial downstream flooding. This area was constructed as a way to contain and slowly release large volumes of runoff after rainfall and snow melt events. In 2005, funding from the Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board helped launch the habitat enhancement and water quality components of this project. Major construction of the wetland area was completed in the fall of 2007.
Because of the partnership between the City of Cedar Falls and the University, there was strong interest in enhancing this area for both recreation and habitat. The UNI Tallgrass Prairie Center has been working to establish native plant communities within the wetland area and the surrounding buffer as prairie. Live plants and a seeding mix were incorporated with the project also in 2007.
Three intermittent streams converge to make the University Branch. All three come together at the UNI Wetland Demonstration Park. The drainage of this area is part of a larger hydrologic unit, or HUC, known as the Dry Run Creek watershed.
Each of these sub-basins delivers runoff to the Cedar River, which ultimately reaches the Mississippi River near Conesville, Iowa. From there the water then travels to the Gulf of Mexico, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean.
To receive credit for this EarthCache please do the following:
Walk to one of the streams that enter the wetland and in an email to the cache owner indicate the following:
1) the width of the stream as it enters the wetland
2) the direction from which it is coming and
3) the coordinates
Permission for this EarthCache was granted by Rebecca Kauten, Surface Water Project Coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with an office at UNI.
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