The Riverside Wellness Center has been awarded $89,975 through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Cleanwater Iowa’s Water Quality Initiative.

The grant will fund the installation of three bioretention cells to filter stormwater runoff of pollutants such as sediment, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and floatable litter. Biocells filter, cool, and release dirty runoff that would otherwise go directly to receiving streams without any treatment. 

Cleanwater Iowa’s Water Quality Initiative was started in 2013 as the action plan for the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It aims to improve water quality throughout the state through a research-based approach evaluated and reported by researchers from multiple institutions, including Iowa State University.

According to the latest project timeline, the wellness center project is set to go out for bid in late summer or early fall, with the earliest projection to begin construction being this October. The estimated project completion date is December 1st, 2027 at an estimated cost of $12.5 million, funded through city cash already on hand, special non-property tax revenues, financing, donations, and grants such as the Water Quality Initiative.