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The Bee Branch Creek is a creek in Dubuque, Iowa, that flows into the Mississippi River. The city has modified it multiple times over the years to combat flooding. The most recent involves daylighting the creek.[3] The entire modern watershed project is expected to cost $230 million.[4][5]

Bee Branch Creek (Iowa) Couler Creek
View of the Upper Bee Branch taken on the Rhomberg Bridge
Bee Branch Watershed Map
Etymology	Unknown
Location
Country	United States
State	Iowa
City	Dubuque
Physical characteristics
Source	Couler Valley
Mouth	Mississippi River (16th Street Basin)
• coordinates	42°30′36″N 90°39′10″W
Width
• minimum	15 ft.
• maximum	25 ft.
Depth
• minimum	1 1/2 ft.
• maximum	3 ft.
Basin features
River system	Mississippi
[1][2]

Etymology

It is unknown as to how the Bee Branch got its name. It is likely that it used to be the name for a tributary for the creek. Earlier, it went by Couler Creek, named after Couler Valley and Couler Village.[6] The name Bee Branch was put into use by 1863.[6] However, Couler Creek was used for a long time afterwards, being used in a 1959 Geological Survey.[7]

History

The Bee Branch Restoration Project is not the first attempt at flood prevention in the area. It was planned to put the old creek underground through a storm sewer in the early 1900s.[8] The sewer was finished by 1905. The sewer was critically acclaimed by the Dubuque Enterprise newspaper as the sewer would allow for the north to be developed.[6]

In the mid 20th century, the creek was seen as insignificant.[7]

Bee Branch Watershed Project

The years 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, and 2011 saw devastating floods totaling in costs to $70 million. The first storm prompted the city to research an engineering project on the 100-year flood area. It was found that the storm sewer did not have the capacity for storms of that size. Detention basins were added to limit flooding, and the Bee Branch storm sewer was daylighted into the Bee Branch Creek, not only as a flood prevention system, but also as a community asset.[6] The more open creek was expected to have more capacity than a closed sewer.[9]

Throughout the 2000s decade, the project was being planned with citizen hearings (2003), acquisitions of the affected properties (2005), designing (2008), and more. In 2010, the Lower Bee Branch Restoration was started and it ended by 2011. Construction on the Upper Bee Branch Restoration started in 2015 and ended in 2017.[10] About 100 pieces of property were bought by the city,[11] including six houses, a parking lot, and 265,000 cubic yards (about 200,000 cubic meters) of soil were removed to make space for the creek.[9] The storm sewer was also expanded, with the town adding trench drains, closing W. 17th street for about a month and a half, from May 3 to June 22, 2021.[12]

By October 2021, the city had finished building culverts and a walkway under the Canadian Pacific Railway. This event was commemorated as finishing the restoration project. However, the whole watershed will be worked on until 2040.[13]

Influence

The Bee Branch has had enormous amounts of influence. The Atlantic covered an article on it, interviewing former mayor Roy D. Buol.[9][12] It also inspired other towns like Middletown, Pennsylvania, who was also struggling with floods.[11]

Funding and expenses

There have been many methods of funding. State and federal contributions have made up the bulk of it with the city itself and the Iowa Flood Mitigation Program also helping out. People can also donate and buy something related to the Bee Branch such as a bridge or brick.[10]

The entire flood prevention project is expected to cost about $230 million with the creek restoration taking up $107.9 million.[4][10]

Geography

The creek originates in the Couler Valley.[6] The Bee Branch is split into two sections by the Canadian Pacific Railway and Garfield Avenue.[3] The Lower Bee Branch is crossed by Sycamore and 16th Streets and goes out into the Mississippi.[14] The Upper Bee Branch comes from the old sewer and is crossed by 22nd Street and Rhomberg Avenue.[15] In total, the drainage basin covers about 50% of Dubuque's businesses and population.[16]

The geography of the north end, specifically its steepness, makes it more likely for floods to happen. This is made worse due to Dubuque covering permeable surfaces with asphalt.[9]

Crossings

The Bee Branch is crossed by 22nd street and Rhomberg in the upper part and Sycamore Street and 16th Street in the lower section and Garfield and the CPR separates the two.[3][17][18] Along with those ones, it is crossed by numerous streets while it is below ground. Dubuque commissioned Origin Design to plan and build up the bridges of the upper and lower sections.[17][18]

All in all, the order of the crossings is:

• 22nd street (furthest upstream)
• Rhomberg Avenue
• Garfield Avenue
• The Canadian Pacific Railway
• East 16th Street
• Sycamore Street
• Kerper Boulevard

Environment

The creek is expected to sustain a healthy ecosystem.[8] In the Lower Bee Branch, 14 native species of fish and the common carp has been found in it. Many of these fish are game fish like the bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, and others. The DNR considered the ecosystem a success considering the newness of the stream.[15]

Floating Islands

In July 2017, the city of Dubuque had installed 14 floating islands between 16th street and the US Route 151/61 overpass. They provide habitats and pull excess nutrients out of the water, like phosphorus, nitrogen, and floating sediments. The rafts are made from recycled BPA-free polyethylene terephthalate plastic, which is also used in plastic bottles.[14][19] The islands have a total area of 2,674 square feet. The largest islands are 44-feet by 17-feet.[19]

The islands have multiple layers provide for multiple habitats like a top layer for pollinators and animals that sit on the rafts and a lower layer for fish to eat off the roots.[14][19] Due to having native plants, the islands will not have to be removed during winter.[10][14] The plants anchoring the islands to the ground means that they can change with water levels.[19]

Mussels

On June 11, 2020, 2,500 freshwater mussels, given by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, were released into the Bee Branch. The plan was that they'd be used to clean up the water.[20] However, about a week later, June 18, 2020, Gavilon Grain spilled a million gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer into the Bee Branch. This severely damaged the mussel population, causing the largest mussel kill in the state. The company was issued with $270,000 in fines.[21]

Awards

The Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project has obtained many awards including:

• ACEC Iowa Special Projects Grand Place Award[8]
• ACEC Iowa Engineering Excellence Grand Conceptor Award[8]
• ACEC National Recognition Award[8]

See also

References

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