The Iowa Water Center (IWC) proudly celebrates a monumental milestone: 60 years of serving and elevating a focus on water resources in Iowa. The IWC is one of 54 Water Resources Research Institutes (WRRIs) located across the US and US territories from Berkeley, California, to College Park, Maryland, and Honolulu, Hawaii, to Mangilao, Guam.
This network of “National Institutes for Water Resources and Technology” became a reality when the Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) was first passed by Congress in 1964.
As we honor our history, we take a look back 25 years ago when Dr. Ramesh Kanwar was tapped to lead the institute during a time of uncertainty.
“I was recruited into a unique situation,” Ramesh says. “The Iowa WRRI was on an alert list at the Department of the Interior and on probation at the time.” The institute in 1999 had a budget of $50,000 and Ramesh was asked to dedicate 25 percent of his time to the position as he was also serving as the Assistant Director for the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station at Iowa State University (ISU).
Ramesh’s research over the years has focused on the areas of irrigation, drainage, groundwater quality, animal waste management, sustainable agricultural production systems, modeling of hydrologic systems, and wastewater treatment and its reuse for agriculture.
From 1999 to 2001, Ramesh injected new energy into the institute and made it more functional. Some of the steps he took to get it back on track were the following:
- Developed an Advisory Board with new members from state agencies and a new vision to develop the first ever 5-year strategic plan
- Secured matching funds (2 to 1) for federal money allocated to the institute in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other state agencies
- As part of the new strategic plan, created student internships in state agencies and organized the first annual statewide Iowa Water Conference
For the Advisory Board, he tapped into water resource leaders across the ISU, University of Northern Iowa (UNI), and University of Iowa (UI) campuses, as well as USDA and state agencies to help him define “who we are, who we serve, and what we do for stakeholders,” Ramesh explains.
With this focus, in one year, he raised a new record amount of funds ($75K) to help fund the work of researchers at ISU, UI, and UNI. He also connected the WRRI to the Iowa DNR, US Geological Survey (USGS) in Iowa and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and routed several Iowa DNR projects to ISU faculty through the institute amounting to about $2.1 million.
The Iowa Water Center continues to build on the foundation — forged by Ramesh and prior leaders — for a future filled with possibility. For example, leaders in different areas of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at ISU and water researchers at the UI continue to serve on our Advisory Board as well as representatives from the Iowa DNR, IDALS, and USGS.
Today, the IWC is administered by the Office of the Vice President for Research at ISU. The USGS appropriates funds to the Center for multi- and interdisciplinary research, outreach, and education projects.
Since 2000, the Center has supported nearly 220 faculty and 300 graduate and undergraduate students through its competitive grants programs. During this 25 year span, more than $2.8M has been administered by the IWC for water related research.
The Iowa Water Conference continues as the premier water conference in Iowa, bringing together water, climate, urban, agriculture, and natural resource professionals to collaborate and exchange ideas. In 2024, 324 people attended the conference. This included 32 students from ISU and UI who participated in a poster competition, presented research findings, and served as room hosts.
Dr. Rick Cruse has been the Director of the Iowa Water Center since 2006. In addition, he is a professor in the Department of Agronomy. The WRRIs are organized as the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR). From 2015-2016, Rick also served as President of NIWR.
Ramesh helped expand the scope of the work of the Center during his leadership beyond assessing water quality for nitrate and phosphorus levels to new emerging contaminants.
“Today, water quantity is becoming as important of an issue as water quality in Iowa,” says Rick.
The mission remains to advance water science to meet Iowa’s water resource needs by identifying and facilitating solutions to meet Iowa’s water resources research needs, communicating Iowa water resources research outcomes, and building Iowa’s water resources research infrastructure.
The Center also receives funding to oversee additional initiatives: the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework National Hub and the Daily Erosion Project.