From left are Dostal's father, Stanley, and Jim Allen, district conservationist with the Tama County Natural Resources Conservation Service. In neighboring Tama County, Stanley Dostal and his son, Calvin, of Traer need to stabilize a waterway outlet. The Dostals used hog panels, wire netting and wire cages filled with rip- rap, posts and filter cloth, instead of installing a concrete or aluminum structure. The outlet held up when 4 inches of rain fell in an hour. Soil and water conservation districts need ways to stretch their cost- sharing dollars because the money they receive is dwindling, says McKibben, who serves on the county's soil and water conservation district board.
Concrete blocks filled with dirt stabilize the waterway outlet at the edge of the ditch.
A contractor did the earth work to shape the waterway and the outlet. The Marshall County NRCS is promoting this alternative for small waterways, he says. In this structure, rip-rap filled wire cages sit on top of the filter cloth. At either side, posts and earthen dams hold the hog panels in place. The filter cloth placed on the ground keeps the structure from undermining, explains Allen, adding the cloth is permeable.