Tuesday, November 15, 2011

IOWA CITY GRANT HELPS CREATE RAIN GARDEN AT ITC MIDWEST WAREHOUSE FACILITY

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nov. 15, 2011 – A grant from the city of Iowa City has helped local company ITC Midwest reduce the storm water runoff from its 67,000 square-foot warehouse. The $10,000 city grant helped cover approximately 40 percent of the costs for developing a 840-square-foot rain garden at the warehouse property, located at 635 Ruppert Road.

“This project will help capture rain water that would otherwise run off the site and contribute to flooding in low-lying areas,” said Brian Boelk, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer with the city. “We created this grant program to encourage companies to take the extra steps on their property to limit water runoff and improve the quality of stormwater runoff.” Boelk runs the city’s storm water runoff program and administers its grant funding.

ITC Midwest owns and operates high-voltage electric transmission lines in the area. The company’s warehouse facility is located on approximately 20 acres in Aviation Commerce Park north of the Iowa City municipal airport. The company opened and dedicated the facility, which includes both warehouse and office space for employees, in November 2008.

The garden features flowering plants and loose fill to help absorb the rain water directed into the garden from the east half of the building’s roof. The garden was designed to capture approximately 4,000 gallons of rain runoff. The garden’s size was determined based on the historical rainfall data that shows 90 percent of rainfall events produce less than 1.25 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. The 70-foot by 12-foot garden should capture most of the rain runoff in those situations. The garden was built by Turf Masters Lawn and Landscaping of Iowa City.

“ITC Midwest works hard to be a good steward of the environment, so this program was a natural for us,” said ITC Manager – Supply Chain Mark Tollensdorf, who works out of the Iowa City facility. “We appreciate the city’s support and the opportunity to contribute to reducing stormwater runoff through this program.”

The city’s grant program was developed to provide financial assistance for Iowa City property owners to install best management practices for addressing storm water runoff. The program is intended to help cover the costs of materials such as plantings, dirt, rock and pavement, and/or contractor labor used to install such practices. The goals of the program are to improve the quality of stormwater runoff and reduce the amount of pollutants entering the city’s storm sewer system and Iowa City’s waterways.

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For more information, please contact:

Brian Boelk
Iowa City
(319) 356-5437

Tom Petersen
ITC Midwest
(319) 297-6793

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