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Water quality program expands to help clean up one of Iowa’s most polluted waterways

A pipe sticks of the frozen grounds with a bit of snow. Water flows from the pipe underneath a road bridge.
Cody Forch
The West Branch of the Floyd River in Plymouth County in March of 2023.

One conservationist says the Deep Creek Water Quality Initiative is making an impact, but more work needs to be done.

The state of Iowa is expanding a water quality program to try to clean up a northwest Iowa river.

The Deep Creek Water Quality Initiative Project started in 2014 with a focus on adding cover crops along the Floyd River and tributaries in Plymouth, Sioux, O’Brien and Cherokee counties.

A cover crop of oats and radish was planted in mid-September in a corn silage field near Remsen in the Deep Creek Watershed.
Plymouth County SWCD
A cover crop of oats and radishes was planted in mid-September in a corn silage field near Remsen in the Deep Creek Watershed.

Plymouth County District Conservationist Ben Brady says the Floyd watershed is one of the more impaired in the state.

"So we're targeting select sub-watersheds of the Floyd,” he said.

Iowa’s secretary of agriculture recently announced a new grant for a larger area. More than $660,000 is available for farmers to add buffers and bioreactors to help filter water from fields. Terraces will also be used to try to improve water quality.

Map of four counties shows a blue blob and a lighter blue blob.
State of Iowa
Deep Creek Water Quality Initiative Project includes an expanded area to the west of the Floyd River.

Brady helps oversee the project.

“Water quality is a long-term goal. It's going to take years to get there; it's not something you can fix overnight," he said.

Brady said there’s even more federal funding available for farmers to take part in the program.

Ben Brady is the district conservationist for Plymouth County NRCS.  He has been with NRCS since 2017 and has been the district conservationist in Plymouth County since 2020.  He was born and raised on a family farm in Marcus. His family utilizes no-till and cover crops.
Plymouth County SWCD
Ben Brady is conservationist for the Plymouth County Soil and Water Conservation District.

“I think every watershed is different, and what's needed in that watershed might vary, but you know that at some point, they're all going to need improvement," he said. "If you look at the hypoxic zone and stuff like that, I mean, a majority of that, they're saying, is coming from Iowa."

Brady said a high number of livestock confinements in the region contributed to the Floyd River’s high pollution rates, but noted the water quality initiative is working. He encourages farmers who live in the program’s district to contact their local NRCS office to sign up.

“We still have a way to go. This project will be here until we get to that point,” he said.

Sheila Brummer joined the staff of Iowa Public Radio as Western Iowa Reporter in August of 2023. She knows the area well, after growing up on a farm in Crawford County, graduating from Morningside University in Sioux City and working in local media.