Legislative Efforts to Encourage Clean Water

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a clean water bill making $282 million over 12 years available to agricultural operations and municipalities that install clean water measures on their properties. This bill is one of many efforts in the state of Iowa to reduce the human impact on water quality.

• What other solutions could be proposed to protect water but still allow humans to farm?

• Why is clean water important?
• How does unclean water impact the environment? 

Students could:

• Research different solutions that are used to impact water quality. 
• Design a solution to reduce the negative effects of humans on the environment using another limited resource. 
• Compare and contrast different environmental effects caused by humans and any solutions for the effects. 
• Develop criteria to evaluate different solutions to water quality issues. 
• Evaluate different water quality solutions based upon its impact and sustainability.

• Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) | Air Quality Index:  The Iowa DNR Air Quality Index shows what the quality of the air is like in Iowa and surrounding states.   
• Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation | Land, Water, and Wildlife Protection:  This resource from Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation explains the different work that has been done around the state of Iowa to protect land.   
• Iowa Conservation Education Coalition (ICEC) | Natural Resources:  The ICEC provides information for environmental educators in Iowa and contains links to additional resources where educators can get information.