Ag WATERSHED DEMONSTRATION Projects

Ag Water Quality Initiative Projects and Urban Water Quality Initiative Projects provide great opportunities for landowners or communities to positively and significantly impact water quality. Both types of projects have been gaining traction across the state in recent years.

Ag Watershed Demonstration Projects, shown here, focus on conservation in smaller, localized areas throughout the state. Learn more about these projects below.

Iowa Watershed Demonstration Projects

Boone River Watershed Nutrient Management Initiative

Central Turkey River Nutrient Reduction Demonstration Project

West Branch of the Floyd River Water Quality Initiative

Cedar Creek Partnership Project

Walnut Creek Watershed Project- Subwatershed of Nishnabotna River WQI

Deep Creek Water Quality Initiative Project

NORTH RACCOON FARM TO RIVER PARTNERSHIP - Sac, Carroll,  GREENE & Calhoun Co.

south skunk watershed project - central & SE iowa

Lower Skunk River & Big Sugar Creek Watershed Water Quality & Soil Health Initiative

Headwaters North raccoon River - Buena Vista & Pocahontas Co.

Practice Demonstration Projects

As a part of the Water Quality Initiative, there are currently 14 demonstration watershed projects and seven practice demonstration projects. Practice demonstration projects focus on the innovative delivery of priority conservation practices like bioreactors, saturated buffers, cover crops, and wetlands. Find more about these seven projects below.

• Advancing Nutrient Reduction in the Rock Creek Watershed

• Central Iowa Watershed Management Authority Water Quality Initiative Project

• Don’t Farm Naked: Integration of Ruminant Livestock and Cover Crops to Meet Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Goals

• Taylor County Water Quality Initiative

• Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative

• Optimized Water Quality Wetlands Integrated with In-Field Nutrient Management Practices

• Driving Cover Crop Adoption through Education and Technical Assistance and Showing Environmental Benefits

WATER QUALITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The planning and development project grants support assessment, planning, landowner contact, and design assistance at the local level. These projects will set the stage for future investments through local, state and federal sources to install priority practices such as wetlands, bioreactors, cover crops and saturated buffers.

• Lake Creek Water Quality Planning & Development Project

• Scaling up Capacity for Implementation of Water Quality Wetlands

• Reducing Nutrient Loss through Tile Water in the South Fork Iowa River Watershed

• Planning Actionable Water Quality Projects in Black Hawk Creek Watershed

• Edge-of-Field Outreach & Planning, Setting the Table for Success in the Morgan Creek Watershed

• Mahaska Co. South Skunk/Cedar Creek Headwaters Project

• Turkey River Headwaters & Chihak Creek Water Quality Project

• Evaluation & Preliminary Design of Stormwater Wetlands near Perry