Take action today: Tell the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that Iowa's lakes, rivers, and streams are worth protecting.

The Iowa DNR has prepared a draft 2026 list of impaired waters as required by Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act and is now seeking public comments on this draft list. The public can comment from February 17, 2026 through March 19, 2026. Following the end of the public comment period, the DNR may modify the draft list based on the comments received, and the revised list will be forwarded to U.S. EPA for its review and approval or disapproval.

IEC is submitting comments to the DNR. In these comments, IEC calls out:

• the high proportion of assessed waters that are impaired
• the problem with allowing regular exceedances of the 10 mg/L nitrate standard for drinking water
• the need to use data from reliable, real-time water monitoring sensors
• the threats from toxic chemicals that the DNR has not yet developed standards to protect against

We encourage you to submit comments to the DNR. You can do this in several ways:

• View the DNR's interactive map to identify an impaired water body (red or yellow) near your home, work, or vacation spot and write a general message highlighting how you use the water and that you'd like the DNR to address and correct the impairment in a timely fashion; or

• Compose comments related to: 

  • overall takeaways

  • data accuracy

  • the process by which the DNR creates the list

  • actions the DNR should take in response to the list

  • specific water quality standards used to assess the list

You can submit comments to IRcomment@dnr.iowa.gov, or you can use our easy Action Alert form and customize the text in the "Message" box. We highly recommend you personalize your comments in some way before submitting. 

Comments may also be mailed to:

Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Attention: IR Comments
Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment Section
6200 Park Avenue, Suite 200
Des Moines, IA 50321

Questions? Contact iecmail@iaenvironment.org for more information.