DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a new Iowa water quality funding package into law, a move state leaders say will put nearly $320 million over 12 years toward water treatment infrastructure, conservation practices and pollution monitoring from farm fields to household taps.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig joined Reynolds for the signing of House File 2771, the Agriculture and Natural Resources budget bill, which includes the “Farm to Faucet” water quality plan.
The legislation restructures how Iowa’s water excise tax is distributed and redirects existing dollars into what state officials describe as targeted water quality needs, including nitrate treatment, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, conservation projects and expanded monitoring.
The bill comes as Iowa continues to face intense scrutiny over nitrate pollution, agricultural runoff and public health concerns. Iowa has the second-highest age-adjusted rate of new cancers in the nation and is one of only two states with a rising rate, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry. Researchers and environmental advocates have pointed to multiple possible factors, including alcohol use, radon, smoking trends, pesticides and nitrate-contaminated water, though no single cause explains Iowa’s cancer burden.
Nitrates are a particular concern in Iowa because they are often linked to fertilizer and manure runoff from farm fields. High nitrate levels in drinking water are regulated because of risks to infants, and researchers have also studied possible links between long-term nitrate exposure and certain cancers.
Central Iowa saw that concern flare dramatically in 2025, when nitrate levels in Des Moines-area rivers climbed high enough that water officials serving more than 600,000 customers warned of serious treatment challenges and issued a lawn-watering ban to reduce demand.
Supporters of the new law say the Farm to Faucet plan is intended to address both sides of the problem: improving water treatment systems downstream while paying for upstream conservation practices that reduce runoff before it reaches rivers and drinking water sources.
“Thank you to Gov. Reynolds and legislators of both parties for supporting this balanced approach — working up and downstream — to improve water quality in Iowa without increasing the tax burden on hardworking Iowans,” Naig said.
Naig said redirecting existing dollars will help modernize Iowa’s water treatment infrastructure “from the farm to the faucet,” while continuing to support farmers and landowners who adopt conservation practices.
“We have made tremendous progress working with farmers and landowners and hundreds of public and private partners to incorporate responsible farming practices, but there’s no finish line when it comes to conservation,” Naig said.
Under the plan, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is expected to receive about $52 million in new funding over 12 years for conservation practices in the Greater Des Moines watershed. That region covers 22 counties in northwest, north central and central Iowa, and drains toward water sources used by Central Iowa Water Works.
Those dollars are expected to support practices such as cover crops, edge-of-field buffers, wetlands and grazing systems designed to reduce erosion and filter nitrates before they reach streams and rivers.
The law also provides an additional $500,000 per year to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for the statewide water quality monitoring network, bringing total state monitoring investment to about $3.5 million annually.
Another major piece is a one-time $25 million investment in Central Iowa Water Works to expand infrastructure and increase nitrate removal capacity over the next three years.
The bill also increases funding for the Iowa Finance Authority’s Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance Program, including a one-time $8 million boost. The maximum grant award for communities will rise from $500,000 to $1 million.
Small and mid-sized towns are also targeted in the plan. The law creates a $10 million Rural Iowa Infrastructure Bank, a revolving loan fund offering 1 percent interest loans to communities with populations under 11,000 for water treatment infrastructure.
State officials say the plan builds on Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which encourages conservation practices to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. According to the Department of Agriculture, Iowa farmers planted nearly 4 million acres of cover crops in 2024, up from fewer than 400,000 acres a decade earlier.
The state also points to more than 150 nitrate-reducing wetlands built statewide and nearly 500 nitrate-filtering buffers installed along field edges. Wetlands can reduce nitrate runoff significantly by capturing and treating water as it leaves fields, according to state agriculture officials.
Still, Iowa’s water debate remains politically charged. Farm groups and state officials emphasize voluntary conservation, public-private partnerships and infrastructure investment. Environmental groups and some water-quality advocates have argued Iowa must move faster and may need stronger accountability for runoff that reaches public waterways.
For Iowa families, the concern is simple: safe drinking water, affordable treatment systems and confidence that rivers, wells and public water supplies are not carrying long-term health risks.
House File 2771 goes into effect July 1, 2026.
(TOP PHOTO of bill signing via the governor’s office.)