by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
January 22, 2026
Iowa House Democrats released a proposal Thursday aimed at improving the quality of Iowa’s drinking water and waterways through increased monitoring and more incentives for farmers and landowners to implement best practices.
Water quality has been a major topic in the state among environmental advocates for years, who have warned about the impacts of farm runoff and chemicals like PFAS in the state’s water. But these concerns have been further elevated in the past year as central Iowa faced elevated nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in 2025.
The “Iowa Healthy Water Act” is House Democrats’ proposal to tackle water quality concerns throughout the state. The measure, which was not yet available on the Legislature’s website, includes five components, Democrats said at a Thursday news conference.
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The proposal would establish a $600,000 statewide water monitoring program, led by Regents institutions including the Iowa Flood Center, with information accessible through a public, statewide dashboard.
In October 2025, Polk County supervisors voted to invest $200,000 to fund the state’s monitoring system, the Iowa Water Quality Information System, or IWQIS, led by the University of Iowa that was set to end in the summer of 2026 due to lapsed funding diverted in 2023. Democrats’ proposal would provide the full amount estimated for the system to be fully operational.
Rep. Kenan Judge, D-Waukee, said this funding was necessary if the state wants ensure the effectiveness of any efforts to improve water quality.
“If we’re leaders, we need to come out and we should oversee water,” Judge said. “It shouldn’t be a mishmash of testing. If we cannot measure it, we cannot manage it.”
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also monitors water quality and provides assessments on sections of Iowa waterways every other year as mandated by the Clean Water Act. However, some advocates say more monitoring is necessary, with citizen scientists providing additional testing through groups like the Nitrate Watch program.
The House Democrats’ proposal also calls for the state to triple its funding — from $10 million to $30 million — for Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. This strategy, developed by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University as a part of a 12-state task force, provides recommendations to farmers on how to reduce nitrogen loads.
Though the strategy does not mandate any conservation practices, Democrats said the increased funding would allow more best practices to be implemented, highlighting “wetlands, buffer strips, bioreactors and cover crops” as areas for increased funding.
Two tax incentive programs were also proposed. One was a state income tax credit for farmers, refundable for up to 50% of out-of-pocket expenses for implementing best management practices for water quality and reduced runoff, and the other , the Iowa Clean Water Certification program, would provide a $5 per acre property tax credit for farms that voluntarily follow an approved nutrient management plan and adopt practices from the Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
The proposal would also create a loan program, offering zero-interest loans for agricultural equipment linked with improved water quality.
While Democrats did not have estimates for the costs of implementing these five measures, Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, an internal medicine physician, said the proposal was a “small amount of money” to address a problem which, left unaddressed, will cost the state greatly in the future through ongoing health concerns.
“When you look about the economic viability of this state down the road, we’re going to need to have clean water, and we’re going to need to have lower cancer rates,” Baeth said. “This is not only playing economic offense, it’s playing economic defense — because if we lose our workforce, our economy is going to be in rougher shape. So it is in everyone’s best interest here in the state of Iowa, it’s in every single Iowans’ interest that we drink healthy water. And so it makes sense that we all invest in fixing this problem together.”
Some Democrats and advocates have linked Iowa’s high cancer rates to water pollution.
Grassley cites state investment in water quality
While some Republicans have said water quality is an issue in Iowa, House Speaker Pat Grassley said it is important to note the DNR is already monitoring water quality and Iowa’s drinking water is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“As a state, we’re investing as much, if not more, than any other state in the nation, in water quality,” Grassley told reporters Thursday. “… 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.”
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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.
