Polk County announced it has committed $200,000 to continue water quality monitoring across Iowa. According to a news release, federal and state budget reductions in recent years have brought the future of monitoring and data collection into question. This funding, drawn partly from leftover project funds from the Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment, which was released in August, and American Rescue Plan Act revenue replacement, supports comprehensive nutrient data collection by the University of Iowa’s IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering’s laboratory. “Polk County’s significant contribution to our statewide monitoring program is vital to building on the ongoing water quality data collected by our network. This ensures we have the necessary scientific information at hand for informed decisions concerning water quality and usage in Iowa,” Larry Weber, director of IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering, said in a prepared statement.