The Great Outdoors Foundation announced that Meta has invested $240,000 into its Conservation Acceleration Fund for a nature-based water infrastructure initiative designed to improve groundwater recharge, water quality and ecological function across 22 acres of restored floodplain and wetland habitat in Polk County.

As the project’s sole private contributor, Meta’s investment will be joined by commitments from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Polk County to fund the $1 million development. 

With an anticipated 2026 completion, this improvement to the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt is projected to benefit Iowa’s waterways by replenishing more than 200 million gallons of water and mitigating tens of thousands of pounds of nitrogen annually, including the capture and treatment of nearly 10,000 acres of agricultural drainage.

The project includes a two-pump system that will rehydrate more than 4 miles of the old South Skunk River channel. This particular oxbow became disconnected from the main water body more than 100 years ago when the river was originally channelized. 

Along with these improvements is construction of a linear wetland, which will be monitored and assessed by Iowa State University in a study, potentially affirming additional water quality benefits and creating a new intervention model for agricultural drainage, according to the foundation.

“Supporting local water projects is a key part of Meta’s water stewardship program,” Matt Sexton, community development regional manager at Meta, said in a news release. “We’ve been proud to call Iowa our home since 2013, and this partnership reflects our continued commitment to being good stewards of the environment and enhancing water quality in the region.”

To date, the Conservation Acceleration Fund has yielded:

• $7 million in private investments for water quality.
• $45 million in unlocked capital for conservation practices.
• 105 water quality projects activated across the state.
• 3.8 million pounds of nitrogen mitigated from Iowa waterways.

The water infrastructure project is positioned along the South Skunk River among more than 8,300 acres of public land. Nature-based solutions, like wetlands, support the ecology of the entire environmental system. In addition to improvements to water quality, this initiative will also yield carbon, pollinator and habitat benefits.

Great Outdoors Foundation CEO Hannah Inman said the investment “demonstrates the efficacy of public-private partnerships and stacked benefits that move the needle for water quality.” 

“The dynamic, innovative nature of this initiative, as well as its high-impact environmental outcomes, makes it an exemplary project within the Conservation Acceleration Fund portfolio,” Inman said.