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Eastern Iowa Airport director who founded Wings2Water to receive water quality award
Director Marty Lenss said the nonprofit’s goal is to expand its work to other airports in the Mississippi River watershed
Sep. 9, 2025 5:30 am
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The Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance announced it has awarded this year’s Individual Impact Award to Marty Lenss, director of The Eastern Iowa Airport.
Lenss is also founder and board president of the environmental nonprofit organization Wings2Water, which works to improve and restore water quality in the Mississippi watershed in Eastern Iowa by reducing nutrient pollution.
According to the alliance’s news release, the Individual Impact Award recognizes Iowans whose work centers on water quality improvement efforts. Eligible recipients can be from the public or private sector, working in conservation, agronomy and environmental research.
“The recognition comes to Marty Lenss for his airport nonprofit, Wings2Water, which focuses on raising awareness and funding for water quality efforts,” the release stated.
The Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance — or “IAWA” — is a nonprofit that works to increase farmer-led conservation efforts and improve water quality and soil health throughout Iowa.
Lenss said the award is the result of a collective effort.
“It is very important to recognize the effort of the Wings2Water Board, CID Airport Commission and the airport staff that have all put effort into launching Wings2Water,” Lenss told The Gazette. “The award really recognizes the collective, grassroots effort to make a difference. The recognition is very humbling and helps energize ongoing efforts.”
The alliance called out Wings2Water for it “unique approach” to water quality work, as the organization’s fundraising model includes the option for airport customers to round up their purchases at the airport.
Wings2Water “really was an airport-wide team effort so it really means a lot for the organization to receive the award,” Lenss said in the release. “There’s a lot of people in the background, quite honestly, that helped stand this thing up.”
Lenss will be recognized at the 19th annual Iowa Water Conference in Ankeny on Tuesday.
About the nonprofit
The rounded-up purchases at the airport have contributed to several water quality projects across the state.
Most recently, Wings2Water awarded more than $25,000 to local organizations working to address water contamination and clean water.
The grant funding was awarded to Linn County Conservation, the Izaak Walton League and the League of Women Voters in July.
Wings2-Water was founded in 2019, with the goal of improving water quality in rivers and streams with the goal of reducing pollutants sent down the Mississippi River to the Gulf.
Going forward, Lenss said he hopes to expand Wings2Water’s work to other airports across the country.
Lenss said there are more than 150 airports within the Mississippi River watershed and Wings2Water hopes to tap into other airports in the basin to expand their roundup program.
“The goal is to encourage these other airports to join the effort and help make a meaningful difference in water quality,” Lenss said.
In the meantime, Lenss said Wings2Water continues to have “strong local business support that has empowered our ability to issue grants to further our mission of water quality improvement.”
Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. She is also a contributing writer for the Ag and Water Desk, an independent journalism collaborative focusing on the Mississippi River Basin.
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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com
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