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Triple annual state water quality funding, Iowa House Democrats propose
Minority-party House Democrats unveiled their legislative proposal for improving Iowa’s water quality
Jan. 22, 2026 6:29 pm
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DES MOINES — Annual funding for the state program to reduce pollutants in Iowa’s waterways would triple to $30 million, recently nixed funding for water monitoring would be restored, and tax credits that would encourage farmers to use clean water-friendly practices would be created under a package of water quality bills being proposed by Iowa House Democrats.
During a press conference Thursday at the Iowa Capitol, House Democrats — who are in the minority and thus cannot set the chamber’s legislative agenda — said their goal is to start a conversation among state lawmakers “that recognizes the reality of Iowa’s water quality problems.”
Iowa’s water, for years, has had elevated nitrate levels. Concentrations in some of the state’s rivers and streams reached near record highs in 2025 after a wet spring followed years of dry conditions. Central Iowa Water Works, which serves 600,000 customers issued its first-ever lawn-watering ban last summer to reduce demand following boil advisories and temporary swimming bans have been enacted across the state.
The state in 2017, in partnership with Iowa State University, established a Nutrient Reduction Strategy, an action that was required by the federal government in an effort to reduce the amount of nitrate flowing through the Mississippi River and killing marine life in the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has renamed in federal government records the Gulf of America.
To address water quality, Iowa House Democrats’ plan would:
- Triple annual state funding for the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy to $30 million;
- Put $600,000 into a statewide water monitoring system to track progress and ensure accountability through a public dashboard;
- Create tax credits for farmers who implement best management practices designed to improve water quality and reduce agricultural runoff, and for farms that adopt practices from the Nutrient Reduction Strategy; and
- Offer zero-interest loans for equipment that improves water quality.
The proposals will come in the form of multiple pieces of legislation, which are being drafted, House Democrats’ staff said. Democrats did not yet have an estimate on the fiscal impact of their proposed tax credit programs.
“This is something that many of us have been wanting to bring to the top of the agenda for a long time, and we decided the time is right to come together and say, ‘Here’s what we need to be doing. Here’s how we need to start,’” Iowa Rep. Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City, said during the press conference.
“We’re not talking about the end goal here. We’re talking about beginning a conversation that recognizes the reality of Iowa’s water quality problems now and starts working toward better water for all Iowans.”
Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature, and thus control the legislative agenda.
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford and a farmer, said Thursday he did not want to comment on the proposal until he sees it in its legislative form. He also said he believes Iowa Republicans must do a better job of “telling our story” on the water quality programs and funding they have implemented.
“We have the monitors that are already being done, 60 of them across the state, by DNR. We are approved by the EPA for our drinking water,” Grassley said while speaking to statehouse reporters. “We have to do a better job, not only those of us in agriculture, but in the Legislature that have led on these issues, of telling the actual story of what we’ve done. …
“So I think some of this is also just saying what are we doing. Because if you start from a baseline that we’re not doing anything, I don’t think that’s a fair assumption.”
At the Democrats’ press conference, Iowa Rep. Kenan Judge, a Democrat from Waukee, said House Democrats want to work with farmers — adding that he believes incentives, and not mandates, will work better to encourage water-healthy farming practices — and Republican lawmakers on improving Iowa’s water quality.
“I think we need to start by the realization that agriculture plays a vital role in our economy and also in the livelihoods of thousands of Iowans that work around agriculture. Our approach is one that House Democrats came together and said we want to be a partner with agriculture,” Judge said. “This isn’t a Republican issue. This isn’t a Democratic issue. This is all of our issue. This is what we need to work on together. Our job is to unite and not divide.”
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
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