2025 Watershed Program Annual Report

Annual Report 2025

Partnerships for Watershed Protection

Watershed Program Overview

We recognize that connecting urban and rural communities is essential for effective watershed management. This urban-rural partnership approach is the foundation for the City’s watershed program, established over ten years ago to address persistent challenges related to flood prevention and source water protection. Our first official watershed initiative, known as The Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP), launched in 2015 in close partnership with the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS). The goal of the watershed program is simple: improve water quality and reduce flood risk through partnerships with farmers and conservation groups

The goal of the watershed program is simple: improve water quality and reduce flood risk through partnerships with farmers and conservation groups.

Since then, the Utilities Watershed Program has substantially evolved and now leverages over $15 million in state, federal, and partner funding . The program’s watershed partnerships have also thrived; Cedar Rapids is proud to work with over 20 partners including governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, commodity groups, and agricultural retailers.

The partnership activities in this year’s annual report outline some of the many ways Cedar Rapids is working to rebuild a healthy and resilient Cedar River Watershed. Watershed research and advocacy helps safeguard community drinking water supplies now and into the future, while fostering a sustainable approach to agriculture. Working together with these crucial partners, Cedar Rapids supports a healthy watershed that cultivates a thriving economy and, most importantly, protects the environment and water upon which we all depend.

2025 Highlights

National Environmental Achievement Award

The Watershed Program was honored to learn that we received an award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)! Staff traveled to Miami in February 2026 to accept this prestigious award.

EPA Grant Received

In April 2025, the Watershed Program was awarded a highly competitive grant from US EPA through the Farmer to Farmer grant program. The City will receive $1.3 million dollars to conduct water quality research on farm fields, restore oxbow wetlands, and facilitate farmer to farmer outreach efforts. Key partners include University of Iowa, Iowa Geologic Survey, and The Nature Conservancy.

National Coalition of State Legislators Event

On June 5 and 6, 2025 the Watershed Program hosted the Mississippi River Cohort of the National Conference of State Legislators for a tour of a local area farm and water quality improvement practices. The group included 50 state legislators from around the country.

Partnerships for Watershed Protection

According to Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, the majority of nitrate in Iowa’s surface waters originates from farm fields. Tile drainage underlying farm fields carries water contaminated with nitrate to rivers and lakes. For this reason, mitigating concerns with nitrate contamination requires the involvement of farmers to adopt water quality improvement practices. To support farmers with making these changes, the City activates partnership opportunities connecting farmers with technical and financial resources. The community created from these partnerships enables the City to collaboratively address farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns.

Cedar River Source Water Partnership

Why do we care about nitrate? Nitrate is a colorless, odorless substance that is harmful to health. The Safe Drinking Water Act mandates that public water supplies ensure nitrate levels are below 10 ppm in drinking water. The City of Cedar Rapids has never violated this health standard and works around the clock to ensure safe drinking water now and into the future.

The Cedar River Source Water Partnership (CRSWP) is an urban-rural partnership designed to improve drinking water quality by helping farmers implement simple practices on their land. The CRSWP was awarded $7 million in 2021 from the federal USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), $8 million from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and $1 million from partners. With the support of 13 partners dedicated to improving water quality in Iowa, we are utilizing the CRSWP to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns.

346,756 Acres of Cover Crops Planted 9 Wetlands Restored 4 Oxbows Restored 2 Prairie Strips

Middle Cedar Water Quality Partnership

In February 2022, the City of Cedar Rapids teamed up with Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and seven Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to launch the Middle Cedar Water Quality Partnership. The goal of this project is to reduce nitrate loading from farm fields to the Cedar River using a ‘batch & build’ approach, which streamlines the process for project design and construction, allowing for a greater number of projects to be built at one time.

Batch & Build Model — A Mutually Beneficial Partnership

IDALS

IDALS provides technical assistance and pays 100% of costs for design, construction, and easement payments to landowners.

Local Conservation Staff

Local conservation staff provide outreach to landowners and conduct initial site surveys.

Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids handles all project administration, such as preparing agreements, procurement, and contract management.

Private Landowners

Private landowners agree to maintain the practice for at least 10 years.

The Middle Cedar Partnership project is especially important to Cedar Rapids because it implements water quality improvement practices shown to significantly reduce nitrate pollution from tile drains. Our support for these projects helps Cedar Rapids ensure the safety and quality of our drinking water supply.

Since 2023, our project has leveraged $820,007.33 in state funds to build:

2026, Cedar Rapids plans to work with

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Exchange

The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Exchange was established by Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to enable wastewater treatment plants and other point source dischargers to earn pollution reduction credits through non-point source reduction efforts within the same watershed. Cedar Rapids has been an active participant in this program since 2020. In 2025 we submitted five reports to DNR to bank nutrient credits for nitrogen and phosphorus in 2025. To view these reports, please visit ribits.ops.usace.army.mil

Since 2020 the following non-point source pollutant reductions have been achieved through cover crops and soil health improvement practices on farm fields:

Water Quality Monitoring

Cedar Rapids marked its first collaborative watershed management effort in the early 2000s in partnership with Coe College and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The goal of this effort was to test water quality conditions in the local tributaries that feed the Cedar River upstream of Cedar Rapids. The water monitoring effort continues to this day and has grown to include over 50 water monitoring locations that are tested monthly throughout the growing season. The partnership now includes Iowa Soybean Association, University of Iowa, Linn County, and the United States Geologic Survey. The results of water testing since 2017 can be explored further at: cleanwaterhub.org/organization/431

Our monitoring program tests for a variety of analytes including nitrogen, phosphorus, E. coli bacteria, total suspended solids, and chlorides. A few examples of data are included below. To receive copies of annual water monitoring reports, please contact Mary Beth Stevenson at mb.stevenson@cedar-rapids.org

Figure 2. Map of the Middle Cedar Watershed showing relative nitrogen loading (pounds per acre) estimated for each tributary (HUC-12 subwatershed). The areas shown as white represent the mainstem of the Cedar River and were not sampled. (Map courtesy of Iowa Soybean Association)

Figure 3. Sampling results from a nutrient removal wetland on a farm in Linn County, near the Cedar Rapids Northwest Water Treatment Plant. The three years of data show higher nitrate levels in the tile drainage water entering the wetland, and lower nitrate levels at the outlet of the wetland. (Courtesy of Iowa Soybean Association)

Outreach & Communication Efforts

To raise awareness about watershed management issues and sustain momentum around implementation successes, the City actively participates in many engagement opportunities. In 2025, the watershed team participated in 22 different outreach events including tours, conferences, field days, and public education events. Watershed program staff contributed to one blog , one podcast , two newsletters , two radio interviews, and one video.

Watershed Management Authorities

Watershed Program in the News

 Conservation Groups find the ‘Radical Collaboration’ gets things done (The Gazette, 1/12/2025) | Read Article

 More oxbows are being restored across Iowa. Here’s why that matters and how organizations are working together (The Gazette, 8/14/2025) | Read Article

 Experts commend Iowa’s new water quality initiative, but say buffer strips alone won’t fix the state’s problems (The Gazette, 8/30/2025) | Read Article

 New signage raises awareness about Linn County watershed (The Gazette, 9/22/2025) | Read Article

Cedar Rapids actively participates on the boards of several Watershed Management Authorities (WMA), which are intergovernmental cooperative agreements aimed at nurturing watershed-scale collaboration to address water quality and flooding. Cedar Rapids serves as the Chair of the Middle Cedar WMA, vice-chair of the Indian Creek WMA, and is a board member of the Lower Cedar and Middle Iowa WMAs. Each WMA has developed a watershed management plan, which guides watershed project priorities for efficient use of funds.

Indian Creek Watershed Management Authority

The City of Cedar Rapids teamed up with the Indian Creek Watershed Management Authority to install 127 signs identifying Indian Creek around town. These signs are a great way to educate the public and increase watershed awareness.

Middle Cedar Watershed Management Authority

The Middle Cedar Watershed Management Authority partnered with the Black Hawk Soil & Water Conservation District to receive a new grant from Iowa Department of Natural Resources for the Urban Agriculture project. The grant money will be used to conduct listening sessions around the watershed to find out what resources fruit and vegetable growers need to improve the sustainability of their farming activities.

Lower Cedar Watershed

The Cedar Rapids watershed program intern (Lindsey Barnes) created a map-based overview of the conservation projects that have been installed through our partnerships in the Lower Cedar Watershed. Learn more by visiting lowercedarwma.org

Contact the Environmental Department’s Watershed Team