Iowa voters rank water quality among top issues, poll shows

A majority of Iowa voters rank water quality and environment among their top five issues heading into the 2026 midterm election, according to a poll commissioned by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Why it matters: Concerns about nitrates and Iowa's high cancer rates are turning water quality into a ballot box issue.

Driving the news: The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future in Baltimore commissioned a survey polling 800 likely Iowa voters in July about their concerns regarding the state's water quality.

The majority of respondents (75%) came from text-to-web interviews, while an online panel made up the other 25%.

By the numbers: 60% of likely voters put the issue in their top five, including 78% of Democrats, 64% of independents and 41% of Republicans.

Water quality and the environment ranked behind cost of living, health care, and Social Security and Medicare.

Younger voters especially prioritized water quality and the environment. 73% of those under 50 ranked it in their top five, compared with 55% of voters ages 50-64 and 48% of those 65 and older.

Zoom in: The issue is particularly notable among independents, who make up the majority of Iowa's electorate and are expected to be especially consequential in the state's tight races.

"People brought up nitrates and cancer kind of unprompted before we asked further questions about that," says Patti Anderson, policy director at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. "So that shows that people are really paying attention to this."

Yes, but: The majority of Iowans also feel favorably toward the state's agriculture industry, despite research showing ag pollutants are a major driver of the state's water quality problems.

But there's a distinction: There's high favorability for small and medium-size farms versus corporate-owned agriculture.

90% of Iowans surveyed viewed small and medium-size independent farms favorably, while just 14% viewed large-scale corporate or industrial farming operations favorably. 76% viewed large operations unfavorably.

Between the lines: The results complicate the long-standing idea that criticizing agricultural practices is synonymous with criticizing Iowa farmers, says Kerri Johannsen, senior director of policy and programs with the Iowa Environmental Council.

"Even people working in the ag industry, they don't identify with big ag and ag corporations," Johannsen says. "There's a difference."

The bottom line: For candidates who want a shot at winning this November, water quality can't be ignored.

"I would be paying attention to the fact that people are really clued in," Anderson says. "They know a lot about this, and they care a lot about this."

Disclosure: Linh is a journalism fellow this year at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.