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Polk County Tackles Water Quality with Innovative Wetland Waves Program

Quality Assurance

Business Honor
03 Febuary, 2026

Environmental Champions Transform Agricultural Runoff through Groundbreaking Wetland Conservation Strategy and Community Engagement.

Polk County's Wetland Waves program is a strategic environmental scheme that is fascinating to many. The Wetland Waves program is a water quality program that is combating the challenges of agricultural runoff like a superbly orchestrated team playing defence in an environmental championship. Water Resources Supervisor John Swanson highlighted the potential of this transformative program at the Crestview wetland located in Ankeny, Iowa. "We found water that looked like chocolate milk," said Swanson. The wetland's multi-use zones converted the murky water from the agricultural runoff into clear water, an impressive effort that would have made any coach of a championship team extremely proud.

Polk County has deployed 16 wetlands and has another 29 wetlands in the planning stages. "We are the only county in Iowa that is investing in this type of water quality programming," said Supervisor of Polk County Board of Supervisors, Matt McCoy. The Polk County Wetland Waves program is leading the way in environmental stewardship and is the first in its league about wetlands. The Wetland Waves program was launched in 2022 with a $1 million investment from the federal government as part of its American Recovery Plan Act proposal. Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is also a partner, providing approximately 80 percent of the engineering and construction costs, a critical partnership in winning this championship in environmental stewardship.

The playbook of the project states community engagement and water quality transformation. “People want to feel connected to their elected officials and know they’re doing something to improve your water quality,” said McCoy indicating that the project is community-focused. Swanson has coached the conservation team for six years, and he takes a more philosophical approach to the field of environment than coaching. “Everyone can be part of the solution,” he said, stating that outside the lines of the county, the Wetland Waves program is a team effort.