by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch
March 6, 2026
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement determined regulations on fertilizers, animal feeding operations and agricultural drainage, among other things are policies that would improve water quality and public health in Iowa.
The Harkin Institute released a policy report Friday as a follow-up to the comprehensive Polk County water quality report released this summer.
Adam Shriver, the institute’s director of wellness and nutrition policy, wrote in the report’s forward that it contains “a set of policies that, if followed, would dramatically improve Iowa’s waterways to protect the health of current and future generations.”
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The report is authored by John Norris, a Harkin Institute senior fellow and a former Polk County administrator, Norris helped spur the Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment, or CISWRA, that was released by Polk County over the summer.
The report compiled more than 4,000 hours of research from a team of 16 scientists that looked at the Des Moines and Raccoon river watersheds. These rivers serve as drinking water, recreation and fishing streams for Iowa’s most populous city.
The multiyear assessment analyzed a number of contaminants in the rivers, including nitrate. Researchers concluded nitrate levels in these rivers are high primarily because of agricultural runoff into the watersheds.
The policy report from the Harkin Institute points to the CISWRA results as proof that “Iowa’s water is becoming unsafe.” High nitrate concentrations in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers this summer also led to a lawn watering ban in central Iowa, which was necessary for Central Iowa Water Works to keep nitrate concentrations in drinking water below the federal guidelines.
Iowa is part of a multistate project to reduce nutrient load entering the Mississippi River, but the Harkin Institute’s report said this voluntary program, the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, is “inadequate” to protect public health and natural resources in the state.
The nutrient reduction strategy calls for, and supports, voluntary adoption of conservation measures like cover crops, edge of field practices and wetland restoration. But the Harkin Institute report said without “enforceable standards,” the strategy has not been effective in improving water quality.
Norris’ report recommends a statewide water management strategy that prioritizes water quality monitoring, enforcement against pollution, reform to agricultural drainage systems and reducing agricultural applications of fertilizer, manure and pesticides.
The report joins several organizations in a call for state funding for the Iowa Water Quality Information System, a network of monitors that provide real-time information on water quality metrics, including nitrate concentrations, across the state.
One pillar of the report involves addressing the “elephant in the room” — agricultural practices that, according to CISWRA, are the primary contributors to stream pollution. Policies recommended by the report include: an elimination of the sales tax exemptions for certain fertilizers, a moratorium on new confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, regulations on CAFO spacing and waste management, 50-foot buffer strips along water bodies and expanded cover crop adoption.
Tile lines, or drainage systems that help remove excess water from agricultural fields, are believed to provide a more direct route for agricultural nutrients to enter waterways. The report calls for changes to state drainage districts, to hold them accountable for discharges and to allow the state to test and set limits for nitrates in tile lines.
Other policy recommendations in the report include: more research and education on regenerative farming practices, more support for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources which would be tasked with enforcing policies, and to fund the state’s Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust.
In addition to state policies, it also outlines a number of changes to the federal Farm Bill — like tying agricultural funding programs to conservation outcomes, or making conservation easements permanent — that would, “prioritize farmers, consumers, soil, and water over agribusiness interests.”
“This report is a call to action to a crisis that will continue to get worse if bold actions commensurate to the scale of the crisis and threat to the public are not taken,” the report said.
The Harkin Institute is set to host its 2026 Harkin on Wellness Symposium March 11, with a focus on the treatment and prevention of cancer.
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Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.
