Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, the City of Cedar Rapids and the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance recently announced a conservation project with local implications. The Cedar River Source Water Partnership Project is a $19.3 million conservation project focused on improving water quality, protecting drinking water and managing flood flows in the Cedar River Watershed. The goal of the project is to link cities in the watershed with vulnerable drinking water supplies to their agricultural neighbors to improve overall water quality and protect source water. Other benefits include reduced flooding and improved fish and wildlife habitat. Financial support will be available to producers who implement practices like cover crops, wetlands, bioreactors and saturated buffers to reduce nitrate runoff. The Lower Cedar River Watershed includes Louisa, Johnson, Cedar, Jones, Linn, Muscatine and Scott counties.