Agricultural Drainage Wells

This geospatial shapefile depicts the locations, functionality, owners and other observered characteristics of Agricultural Drainage Wells in the State of Iowa. Agricultural drainage wells are required to be registered both with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as a part of the 1987 Groundwater Protection Act, and with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a part of the Underground Injection Control Program. Subsequent to this amendment to Iowa Code, Senate File 473 was passed in 1997. The bill required "owners or agricultural drainage wells to prevent surface water intake into the wells, provided for the closure of certain wells and the construction of alternative drainage systems, provided state assistance for closing agricultural drainage well, prohibited the construction and use of certain structures located in agricultural drainage well areas, provided for the assessment and collection of certain drainage district expenses, provided penalties, and provided an effective date" for closures. This date was originally set as December 31, 1999 but was later amended to December 31, 2001.