Kim Norvell

knorvell@dmreg.com

It doesn't have a river running through its borders, but Clive has been named Iowa's River Town of the Year by a nonprofit environmental advocacy group.

Iowa Rivers Revival presented city officials with the award Monday to recognize the work the city has done to protect water quality and reduce flooding along Walnut Creek.

Clive has taken extensive efforts to stabilize eroded banks along the creek using state-of-the-art bio-engineering techniques, said Robin Fortney, a board member for Iowa Rivers Revival.

"Our admiration for Clive has skyrocketed," Fortney said. "The work that (it is) doing with stream restoration is pioneering in the state of Iowa ... The thing that you've been doing here is something I wish every community would consider."

In 2013, the city began efforts to curb erosion along Walnut Creek by stabilizing the stream's bank in focused areas. More than 100 dump-truck loads of soil float away from the banks of Walnut Creek as it flows through Clive each year, according to Doug Ollendike, community development director.

The city uses limestone to build shorter, sloped banks that are planted with native vegetation. The roots take hold and form their own natural bank, fully covering the rock. These long-term techniques are used instead of simply dumping limestone over eroded areas, which eventually wash away again, Ollendike said.

A stabilization project completed near the 86th Street bridge withstood a 50-year flood event two years ago, he said. The city has completed stabilization projects on about 1,750 feet of Walnut Creek's banks. It eventually hopes to restore all eight miles of the creek's banks.

"We're not dramatically changing the world, but we're thinking about it differently and connecting the dots a different way to get the desired outcome," he said. "We have a lot of work to do."

Clive was the first city in central Iowa to implement recommendations outlined in a Walnut Creek Watershed master plan, which addresses water quality and flooding concerns in an area encompassing 53,000 acres in Dallas and Polk counties. The city's new runoff requirements aim to reduce the volume of water entering Walnut Creek from new construction and development sites.

In addition, Clive recently approved a 25-year master plan for its greenbelt trail system that identifies water quality efforts, has plans to purchase 17 acres east of 86th Street to expand a wetland, and received a grant through the Iowa Department of Agriculture's Iowa Water Quality Initiative to restore an oxbow lake along Walnut Creek.

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Molly Hanson, executive director of Iowa Rivers Revival, said Clive's forward-thinking plans went into the organization's decisions to award the city this distinction. Past winners include Cedar Falls, Council Bluffs and Dubuque. All those cities sit along major rivers and have worked to restore residents' access to their riverfronts.

Clive's efforts mirror the past winners, Hanson said, just on a smaller scale. Walnut Creek runs the entire nine-mile length of Clive from east to west.

"The River Town of the Year award highlights a city's outstanding work to enhance connections to its resource," Hanson said. "And Clive is an outstanding example of this."