The Iowa League of Cities last week won a competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a statewide water quality offset program designed to help communities reach nutrient reduction goals and reduce costs by working collaboratively with farmers in watersheds that are the source for their drinking water.

The three-year, $700,000 grant though the USDA Conservation Innovation Grant program is designed to foster the development of an offset program under the framework of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, said Dustin Miller, general counsel for the League of Cities.

The USDA grant funds will leverage...