(Radio Iowa) – A state-led effort to identify and close dozens of ag drainage wells in Iowa has been completed.
The project began in 1987 with the passage of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act. State officials determined about 300 structures had been draining surface water into deep aquifers used for drinking water — so fields could be planted with crops.
It took 25 million dollars in state funds and another 12 million from private landowners and other sources to re-route water from ag drainage wells into tile lines — or create wetlands in areas where there were no tile lines.