NASA and University of Iowa Launch AI Project to Forecast Water Nitrate Levels

NASA is funding a collaborative research project with the University of Iowa and several municipal water utilities in Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Des Moines Water Works. The initiative will integrate historic water‑quality measurements with NASA satellite imagery of rainfall and land use to develop an artificial‑intelligence model that predicts nitrate concentrations in drinking‑ and process‑water supplies.

Project lead engineering professor Jesus Gómez‑Velez says the AI‑generated forecasts will be tested for at least two years before being provided to water‑treatment facilities. Accurate predictions could help utilities choose source water or adjust treatment blending, moving water‑resource planning toward data‑driven decisions.