Appropriations for Parks & Water
The Iowa legislature is working on the appropriations for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. UPDATE: Update: the legislature adjourned on May 15, 2025 and the governor signed SF646..
Sierra Club has 5 items that need to be added to the proposal:
The legislature needs to include significant additional funding for park maintenance, which would reduce the $100 million backlog in repairs. Reporting by Erin Jordan in the Cedar Rapids Gazette indicated that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has estimated that it has a backlog of $100 million in maintenance of state park structures. This includes rotting picnic shelters, sewage lagoon updates, and repairs needed due to the derecho in 2020. Iowans and out-of-state visitors enjoy spending time in the state parks. This is a public good and economic benefit to the state. Therefore, additional funding needs to be made available to work down the deferred maintenance. They say a stitch in time saves nine; in this case paying for deferred maintenance will save more costly repairs down the road. (See Erin Jordan, “Iowa state parks need $100M in repairs”, Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 17, 2024).
The funding for REAP is set at $12 million in the appropriation bill. The Iowa Code authorizes the funding for REAP to be $20 million. We suggest that the funding level in the budget be set at $20 million. REAP benefits counties as well as the state. It has been severely underfunded for many years. The Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program provides funding to protect Iowa’s natural areas, soil conservation, water quality and historical resources. (See Iowa Code 455A.18(3)(a))
REAP needs to be extended beyond June 30, 2026. This will allow certainty in future planning for the programs financed by REAP. Update: The appropriations bill SF646 extends REAP until 2025; that bill was signed by the governor.
Several industries that would withdraw large quantities of water from the state's aquifers are proposed for Iowa. Data centers and crypto mining operations can use large amounts of water for cooling. The carbon dioxide pipelines that are being proposed will use a significant amount of water during the carbon capture process – whether surface water, shallow wells near rivers, or deeper aquifers. At the same time, wells in western Iowa have been running dry. Yet, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has not performed a detailed analysis of the health of the aquifers and how they will be affected by water withdrawal to support the industrial needs. We urge adding appropriations to support a water study, so that we have adequate amounts of water for drinking water and home usage, for feeding livestock, and for use by businesses and industries.
Finally, we urge that the state adequately fund the water quality sensor network in our rivers and streams. In 2023, the appropriations were reduced. It is time to fully restore the funding for the sensor network to $500,000 so that we know the status of our water quality and what we need to do to improve it.
What you can do
HF876 passed both the House and the Senate. It is now waiting for the governor to sign the bill. Ask Governor Reynolds to sign SF646. You can phone the Governor's office at 515-281-5211, write a letter, or send an electronic message to E-Mail (Note: To electronically send a letter to the governor, you must use the governor's website.)
Gov. Kim Reynolds
State Capitol
1007 E. Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50319
