Ambient Water Monitoring Strategy for Iowa: 2016-2021, November 30, 2016

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Ambient Water Monitoring Program provides consistent, unbiased information about the condition of Iowa’s water resources to support decisions affecting the development, management and protection of these resources. To strengthen its services, the program worked with a variety of stakeholders and other DNR programs to develop a five-year strategy for Iowa’s ambient water monitoring efforts. The strategy identifies opportunities to improve the program’s effectiveness in several categories: monitoring objectives, sampling design, data management, products and services, and program evaluation and coordination. Iowa DNR managers and technical staff will use the new strategy to guide decisions affecting the ambient monitoring program over the next five years. The strategy should also serve as a robust informational resource for stakeholders, policy makers, legislators and the public.

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.

Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project 1248-023: Final Project Report: July 2013-December 2015, October 11, 2016

In 2010 a group of farmers in the Dry Run Creek watershed, an Iowa High Quality Water Resource, formed the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Association to learn more about and implement solutions to remedy a bacteria impairment in their stream. Through a partnership with Luther College, Iowa DNR Watershed Monitoring and Assessment and Iowa State University Extension the farmers were able to conduct an assessment of their stream and watershed. The assessment showed multiple potential sources of bacteria, dependent on whether water samples were collected following rain events or during dry conditions. This project will allow watershed farmers to implement solutions to reduce bacteria delivery during both wet and dry weather. Funding will be targeted to feedlot runoff control improvements, cover crops and vegetative filters, manure management strategies and livestock stream access. The council intends to continue intensive water monitoring to determine whether the strategies are successful. Research shows the bacteria reduction in water bodies can be seen relatively quickly, within 1-2 years, compared to other types of impairments.

Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project 1248-023, Final Project Report: July 2013-December 2015, March 26, 2015

In 2010 a group of farmers in the Dry Run Creek watershed, an Iowa High Quality Water Resource, formed the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Association to learn more about and implement solutions to remedy a bacteria impairment in their stream. Through a partnership with Luther College, Iowa DNR Watershed Monitoring and Assessment and Iowa State University Extension the farmers were able to conduct an assessment of their stream and watershed. The assessment showed multiple potential sources of bacteria, dependent on whether water samples were collected following rain events or during dry conditions. This project will allow watershed farmers to implement solutions to reduce bacteria delivery during both wet and dry weather. Funding will be targeted to feedlot runoff control improvements, cover crops and vegetative filters, manure management strategies and livestock stream access. The council intends to continue intensive water monitoring to determine whether the strategies are successful. Research shows the bacteria reduction in water bodies can be seen relatively quickly, within 1-2 years, compared to other types of impairments.

Descriptions of Water Quality Parameters for Lakes in the Ambient Lake Monitoring Program

This fact sheet summarizes the water quality data collected as part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources ambient lake monitoring program.

Results from Water Quality Monitoring Conducted during Project AWARE 2016 on the Lower Des Moines River in Southeast Iowa

This reports summarized the IOWATER water quality monitoring conducted during the 2016 Project AWARE on the lower Des Moines River in southeast Iowa.

Stream water‐quality monitoring conducted in support of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (2016)

Monitoring of nitrogen and phosphorus in streams and rivers throughout Iowa is an essential element of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS). Sampling and analysis of surface water is necessary to develop periodic estimates of the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus transported from Iowa. Surface and groundwater monitoring provides the scientific evidence needed to document the effectiveness of nutrient reduction practices and the impact they have on water quality. Lastly, monitoring data informs decisions about where and how best to implement nutrient reduction practices, by both point sources and nonpoint sources, to provide the greatest benefit at the least cost. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.