The Iowa Water Festival showcases a wide array of talented individuals and organizations who share the same concern for clean water. It is a free event for the entire family featuring water related artwork, music, dance, and fun educational activities. Kids and adults can make origami boats, do water testing, Japanese Fish painting, experience Indigenous drumming, and authentic teepee, a dunk tank, and much, much more.

The Iowa Water Festival, the state’s premier clean water advocacy event, will unite educators, scientists and other speakers to bring awareness of Iowa’s water quality issues and show Iowans how they can promote waterway health, restore Iowa’s land fertility using climate-smart agriculture practices, and encourage elected officials and decision-makers to commit to action that will lead to long-term changes to clean Iowa’s waters.

Currently, 750 of Iowa’s waterways do not meet the clean water standards. Our agricultural watersheds feed into the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, making Iowa one of the major contributors to the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. High levels of nitrates and chemicals in Iowa’s rivers challenge the ability to provide safe drinking water to Iowa’s residents.