Growing Resilience Project Strengthens Drinking Water and Farm Resilience

The City of Cedar Rapids, in partnership with the Middle Cedar Watershed Management Authority (WMA) and a network of conservation, agricultural and technical partners, is launching the Growing Resilience in the Middle Cedar Watershed project (GR-MCW). This three-year effort focuses on improving water quality, enhancing habitat and building resilience across the region's agricultural landscape. The group is receiving $1.28 million through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Farmer to Farmer grant, which runs from January 2026 through December 2028.

Growing Resilience will work directly with farmers and communities to identify and implement natural infrastructure and conservation practices that provide downstream benefits. This effort continues the City's dedication to watershed work and builds on nearly two decades of partnerships in the Middle Cedar Watershed. Farmer engagement is at the core of this project. Five farmer cooperators will showcase innovative conservation practices. Jim O'Connell, a Linn County farmer, is one of the cooperators participating in the project. "I believe using conservation practices is an important part of creating a sustainable future for our farms and our land. The Farmer to Farmer project gives us an opportunity to learn from each other, try different practices, and see what works. By making conservation a part of how we farm today, we can help ensure that future generations have the opportunity to care for and work the land just as we do."

Cooperators will participate in soil and water monitoring activities on their farms and share their experiences with other farmers and the public. The Iowa Geological Survey and the University of Iowa will lead monitoring efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration practices and other resilience activities. "Monitoring is a critical part of understanding how these practices perform on working farms. By measuring changes in soil and water over time, we can better understand what's working and share those results with farmers and conservation professionals to help inform future conservation efforts across Iowa" said Matthew Streeter, Soil Scientist for the Iowa Geological Survey.

The Middle Cedar Watershed is a 2,400-square-mile landscape that includes agricultural lands, communities and numerous tributaries that ultimately flow to the Cedar River and Mississippi River. Through Growing Resilience, project partners will focus efforts within four high-priority sub-watersheds identified in the Middle Cedar Watershed Management Plan. The initiative will prioritize both farm-scale and watershed-scale resilience strategies. The Middle Cedar WMA will lead a planning effort with partners to evaluate nature-based solutions such as the restoration of oxbow lakes to improve water quality, habitat, and overall watershed resilience.

"We're excited to partner on this project and to bring the power of nature as an important piece in solving the environmental issues that we face today. Restoration brings back the ecosystem services that healthy floodplain wetlands like oxbows can naturally provide," said Karen Wilke, Associate Director of Freshwater for The Nature Conservancy.

Education and outreach will be an important element to ensure the success of this project and the City hired a watershed coordinator to act as a liaison with the farming community and support outreach efforts. "I'm thrilled to be part of the Cedar Rapids team and to help tell the stories of the farmers who are working to improve water quality in our watershed," said Erin Erickson, Watershed Coordinator for the City of Cedar Rapids. Erickson will work with farmer cooperators to share conservation success stories through a video series and other outreach efforts and will share project updates at Middle Cedar WMA meetings.

Lauren Michael was recently appointed the City's Utilities Director following the retirement of Roy Hesemann in September. Michael said, "The City of Cedar Rapids is proud to lead this Growing Resilience initiative with our partners. We are dedicated to developing solutions that will protect drinking water and reduce flood impacts in the Middle Cedar watershed."

Growing Resilience in the Middle Cedar Watershed will culminate in a two-day symposium, bringing together farmers, community leaders, elected officials, conservation professionals, and members of the public to share outcomes and discuss opportunities to continue improving watershed resilience. The symposium will be held in 2028, two decades after the catastrophic Flood of 2008.

Growing Resilience is a collaborative effort involving the City of Cedar Rapids, Middle Cedar Watershed Management Authority, University of Iowa, Iowa Geological Survey, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, The Nature Conservancy, Great Outdoors Foundation, and farmer cooperators, with funding from the U.S. EPA.

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