Gov. Reynolds today announced a historic $100M investment in water infrastructure and water quality efforts for the State of Iowa.
Through a new grant program within Iowa Finance Authority, Gov. Reynolds is allocating $75M for the Water Infrastructure Fund. The funding will come through federal ARPA dollars and will support projects aimed at reducing excess nutrients, improving drought resiliency, reducing flood risks, improving public health, promoting reuse of water and wastewater and providing significant economic benefits to communities and the state. The grant application process will open December 15 and can be found here.
“We recognize the value and importance of water quality and what that means to families, businesses and economic prosperity for our state,” said Gov. Reynolds. “That’s why we remain committed to improving Iowa’s water quality and providing these historic investments to local communities, landowners and organizations that aim to protect, preserve and restore Iowa’s water resources.”
An additional $25M will be allocated to the Conservation Infrastructure Project at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
The Iowa Conservation Infrastructure Project brings together both public and private resources to advance the mission of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. In doing so, improvements will be made in priority watersheds to improve water quality, habitat, recreation opportunities and carbon sequestration.
“We’re not done yet,” said Gov. Reynolds. “The first bill that I signed into law as Governor was Senate File 512—providing long-term dedicated funding for water quality; and since then, I’ve signed into law a 10-year extension to keep building on Iowa’s strong record of conservation. This additional funding will provide even more cost-share incentives for Iowa's farmers and landowners to accelerate construction of conservation practices and improve water quality.”