The Iowa River flows through Iowa Falls, September 6, 2025. (Photo by Kami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Republican and Democratic lawmakers agreed Thursday that water quality is a pressing issue in the state along with property taxes and public health — all issues that will need to be balanced when the Legislature returns in January.
Water quality, cancer and conservation efforts in Iowa were a key topic on the second day of the Iowa Nature Summit at Drake University as a group of Iowa lawmakers discussed potential policies through 2026.
WITHru. Sarah Tron Garriott, West Des Moines County, noted the water quality, especially after lawn watering ban was released in central Iowa over the summer due to elevated nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, a problem she now hears about all the time.
“There are more people paying attention,” she said. “For people who have been doing this for a very long time, this is an opportunity to bring these new people and these new voices into advocacy because we can't solve big problems unless we work together in broad coalitions of people.”
SUBSCRIBE: GET MORNING HEADLINES IN YOUR INBOX
Trust Funding
Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund was created in the state constitution in 2010 and received approval from more than 60% of Iowa voters to fund parks, trails, water resources, conservation efforts and natural areas in the state.
Despite its 15 years of existence, the trust has not accumulated any funds because the Legislature failed to pass a required increase in sales taxes, of which the trust will receive three-eighths of one percent.
Natural and environmental groups called The Legislature has funded the trust in past years.
Rep. David Jacoby, D-Coralville, said it “could happen” in 2026.
“I think it’s time to start,” Jacoby said. “…but we must remember that these three-eighths were meant to complement what we do, not replace what we do.”
Tron Garriott said voters have asked legislators to do something about the state's water quality problems and funding the fund is the “number one opportunity.”
At the same time, however, Tron Garriott said property taxes will be the “biggest issue” in the House this year.
“There are efforts in our municipalities and counties to improve water quality, and they are funded through property taxes,” Tron Garriott said. “Any changes to our property tax structure need to recognize that there are really important efforts going on at the more local level that could be harmed if we make restrictive changes.”
She said many local municipalities and counties are also facing the end of life of their wastewater treatment plants. There are expensive infrastructure projects that, if they fail, could lead to more pollutants like E. coli in waterways.
Some of these issues, such as trust funding and creating funds for water quality monitoring networkscould be done at the state level, but Tron Garriott said the water quality work would also require federal funding through an updated Farm Bill.
Rep. Devon Wood, R-New Market, the newly appointed chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said passing it would require “overwhelming feedback” from voters in favor of the tax.
“They're already screaming that we're hurting tax situations in other ways, even with the recent tax cuts,” Wood said. “So it's a balance we have to weigh.”
Anna Gray, director of public policy and adviser to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and moderator of Thursday's discussion, said Wood's response came as “a challenge for all of us to make noise and continue to expand our networks and advocacy efforts.”
Anna Gray, Senator Sarah Tron Garriott, Senator Ken Rosenboom, Rep. Devon Wood, Rep. David Jacoby (from left) at the Iowa Nature Summit on November 20, 2025. (Photo by Kami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Water quality and cancer
Jacoby said cancer is the “biggest issue” that will be discussed during the legislative session.
He picked up and read aloud a sign with a large black inscription: “This is water.”
Reports Place Iowa on the list of states with the second-highest rate of new cancer cases and one of only two states in the country with rising rates of new cancer cases.
“We need an honest look at what is causing the rise in cancer rates,” Jacoby said.
He advocated for foundation funding, water quality monitoring, watershed work, and cancer research.
Public health experts and cancer researchers said at the Iowa Nature Summit on Wednesday that while there are many factors contributing to cancer rates in Iowa, there is enough evidence linking water quality and agricultural chemicals to cancer so lawmakers can develop policies to address these issues.
Sen. Ken Rosenboom, R-Pella, said he couldn't “leave his living room” without talking about cancer because it has touched the lives of so many Iowans.
He said it was a “deep concern” for the Legislature, but he had not personally addressed the issue at the committee level. He said if one “points the finger” at agricultural pollution, it doesn't make sense why states like Illinois aren't saddled with similarly high cancer rates.
“Once we have obvious solutions or answers, we can start changing policies or developing policies,” Rosenboom said. “But I think most of us still have more questions than answers.”
During his 13 years at the Capitol, Rosenboom said water quality was the “single common denominator” on issues he prioritized.
Rosenboom was part of a group of lawmakers who helped pass long-term funding Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy — a plan to voluntarily implement practices to reduce the amount of nutrients that end up in Iowa's waterways and ultimately contribute to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. He said he recognized the “constant and ongoing tension between agricultural production and environmental issues.”
He said that while most Iowans know their state leads the nation in corn, pork, eggs and biofuels production, the state also leads in “water quality weapons” such as digesters, buffer strips, grassy waterways, pollinator habitat, conservation tillage and terraces.
“It’s part of dealing with the tension between the environment and agricultural production,” Rosenboom said.
He said he has “always recognized” that more work needs to be done to improve water quality in the state.
Wood, who raises cattle and farms with her family, said there are a variety of ways the Legislature can work to “modernize” conservation efforts within existing budgets.
“It’s no exaggeration to say we need to keep doing what we’re doing,” Wood said. “We also need to do something new, but we need to make sure that we are advocating … in these boring infrastructure budget lines because Iowa has and continues to recognize water quality as an infrastructure investment.”
