At their most recent meeting the Perry City Council approved the plat of survey for the Iowa Street wetland project. 

The action formally created the new parcel where the Iowa Street wetland which will be used to collect stormwater drainage. City Administrator Sven Peterson says it will be right on the corner where Iowa Street curves up to Highway 141. 

“What that does is helps with two things being stormwater quality and the quantity of water coming through. So, we want to be able to control how much water is being let into the system at once because we do have issues when we have a really intense rainfall that the outlet that goes to Beaver Creek can’t handle the total acreage of what that drainage area is.”

Peterson tells Raccoon Valley Radio the wetland will hold back a portion of the drainage area so the other areas can drain out. Peterson says it will also help with water quality over time as it will take out some of the nutrients in the water as it comes from the agricultural areas.

“We are also hoping to be able to make this into a park-like setting and include some park amenities like possibly a parking lot, a shelter house, maybe some playground equipment.”

Peterson says the project will be in multiple phases which will create the wetland in the first phase and then the amenities coming in the second phase of the project.