Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy stream water quality monitoring in Iowa : measuring progress (2016)

The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) is a research- and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients—nitrogen and phosphorus—delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico by 45 percent. To measure progress, researchers track many different factors, from inputs (e.g. funding) and the human domain (e.g. farmer perspectives) to land management (e.g. on-farm practices) and water quality. Monitoring Iowa streams provides valuable insight into measuring water quality progress and the reduction of surface water nutrient loss. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) aims to reduce the load, or total amount (e.g. tons), of nutrients lost annually. Researchers calculate the load from water monitoring results, which measure concentration combined with stream flow.