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Abstract

In 1750, Iowa's population was less than 1,200 and this part of the USA was known as virgin lands because Iowa’s hydrology can be defined as wetland and/or marsh prairie hydrology at time of the history. Agricultural drainage became an issue in the 1800s when European settlers started to arrive in Iowa in 1840. As soon as European settlers settled and farming started in the 1850s to meet the demand for food but wet soils of Iowa needed artificial drainage to grow crops. Agricultural drainage in Iowa took a major step forward in 1904, when state legislation created drainage districts where farmers could drain their own lands with the cooperation of their neighbors. This brought a major transformation in drainage hydrology of Iowa because several streams/rivers were straightened, and open ditches were dug to create outlets for drainage water. Much of the subsurface drainage systems were installed in Iowa beginning 1905 and the demand for subsurface drainage increased rapidly resulting in adding 12.1 million ha of the tillable area of the Midwest of the United States that increased crop production on another 16.2 million ha. With increasing drainage activity, drainage research began at Iowa State University and other universities in the Midwest. With today's agricultural investments in fertilizer, chemicals, seeds, etc., subsurface water management has almost become a necessity. This paper will present the history of drainage history and agricultural drainage practices and drainage research in Iowa, and ideas on the future of drainage for midwestern soils of the USA.