Drainage District Main Improvements in Iowa

Abstract

Iowa agriculture within the Des Moines Lobe (west/central Iowa) is dependent upon drainage systems to keep the corn and soybean fields producing year after year due to previous glaciation. In the early 1900s, drainage systems became a popular and feasible way for farmers to remove the excess water from these fields. There is a concern that there are drainage systems that are currently in place across the Des Moines Lobe that are under-capacity and the fields will not be drained properly to keep productivity up. This research examined recent drainage main improvement projects to evaluate the percent of projects that move forward, the cost of these projects, and the old and new drainage coefficient. The work found that most drainage main improvement projects have moved forward and the average cost per acre is $800.