A variety of groups are urging legislators to continue state funding for the University of Iowa’s network of river sensors that measure water quality. Cynthia Farmer of the Center for Rural Affairs says those sensors provide the data to show if state-funded conservation projects are working.
Colleen Fowle serves as the Iowa Environmental Council’s Water Program Director.
Nick Laning is a lobbyist for Des Moines Water Works — Iowa’s largest drinking water utility — which gets its supply from the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers.
A key senator working on next year’s funding plan for the Iowa Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources says he’s looking for a way to provide the $600,000 in state money to operate the water quality sensors for another year.
