Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a sweeping water quality package into law, committing $319 million over 12 years to address the state's persistent nitrate problem.
The initiative, branded "Farm to Faucet," is embedded in the state's agriculture and natural resources budget bill, House File 2771. Its most immediate provision is a one-time $25 million grant to Central Iowa Water Works to upgrade its nitrate-removal capacity — a direct response to the utility's 2025 lawn-watering ban, imposed after nitrate levels spiked to dangerous levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers.
Beyond that one-time investment, the package establishes the Rural Iowa Infrastructure Bank, a $10 million revolving loan fund offering financing at 1% or below to small and mid-sized communities seeking to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure. A new Greater Des Moines Watershed Program receives $3.72 million in annual funding, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources gains $800,000 per year for water quality monitoring, part of which will be distributed as grants.
The law also restructures existing funding streams. The Water Quality Financing Program is eliminated, with its $8.5 million redirected to other initiatives, including the Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance program.
Concern over Iowa's water quality has intensified in recent years, driven by chronically elevated nitrate levels tied to agricultural runoff and growing research into potential links with the state's high cancer rates. Democrats in the legislature had pushed their own water quality proposals this session, and some criticized the Republican package for insufficient investment in monitoring infrastructure, specifically the Iowa Water Quality Information System administered through the Iowa Flood Center, and for lacking stronger incentives for farmers to adopt best practices. The bill nonetheless drew bipartisan support in both chambers.
"We all want the same solution on water quality. And this is how we get there," Reynolds said at Monday's signing.
