opinion

What will it take to get meaningful water quality legislation in Iowa?

A year after Des Moines Water Works’ decision to not appeal the dismissal of its Clean Water lawsuit, disappointment in the absence of “collaboration,” as well as the misrepresentations about Iowa’s environmental condition, lingers.

On April 18, Rep. John Wills (R-Spirit Lake) authored comments in his hometown newspaper, The Dickinson County News, about special drinking water protection for the Iowa Great Lakes. A conclusion Rep. Wills reaches about Des Moines Water Works raises serious issues about his policy conclusions involving environmental issues, particularly as a legislature leader.

Rep. Wills also told the newspaper, “No entities in Iowa draw drinking water from rivers.” He then added, "I know Des Moines Water Works says they do, but they actually take their water out of 50-foot shallow wells, so they don't really take water directly out of the river.” Rep. Wills is misinforming readers.

Not only does Des Moines Water Works use river water, we use more than 5 billion gallons of river water every year, and have done so for decades, in addition to water from shallow wells. And we are not the only water utility in Iowa that depends on rivers for drinking water. Council Bluffs, Iowa City, Keokuk, Ottumwa, Panora, Rathbun Regional Water, among others, all draw water from the rivers in their communities for drinking water.

Why aren’t legislative leaders asking why Iowa’s Great Lakes and other creeks, rivers and lakes throughout our state are so polluted?

Every day, Des Moines Water Works treats water from the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. A broad range of contaminants are removed to ensure the water is safe for consumption. Our battles with high nitrate concentrations in our water sources have been widely reported. Spring snow melt brings increased concentrations of ammonia that must be effectively managed. And while these contaminants are still on the rise, there is yet another emerging threat to our drinking water in the form of cyanotoxins, originating from high nutrients in the rivers. These cyanotoxins, caused by blue-green algae blooms, left 500,000 city of Toledo, Ohio, residents without drinking water in 2014.

If the ongoing battle to treat water from the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers wasn’t already difficult and costly enough, we also find ourselves battling lawmakers who are either oblivious to or uninterested in the serious source-water quality concerns facing the 500,000 Iowans who rely on Des Moines Water Works for their drinking water.

This month, Gov. Reynolds signed into law House File 2407, legislation that makes it illegal for someone to intentionally spray a pesticide into a natural lake that is used as source water for public or private water supplies. It’s common-sense legislation that passed both legislative chambers without objection.

If contaminants such as pesticides shouldn’t be discharged into lakes like West Okoboji and Big Spirit in northwest Iowa because they are used for drinking water, then shouldn’t the legislature be equally concerned about pesticides being put into rivers that are also used for drinking water elsewhere in Iowa?

The lead sponsor of House File 2407, Rep. Wills told Dickinson County News, “We don't like to do laws for one area or one region, but this one is a specific law just for the Iowa Great Lakes.” Wills went on to say, “We don't want another Flint, Mich., to happen in Okoboji because someone decided to put some high-powered pesticide into the lake, and it got sucked into the water intakes.”

This is the same language and tone Des Moines Water Works has used for years when talking about the impact agricultural activities have on our source-water supply. However, when we make the argument on behalf of 500,000 Iowans who rely on the drinking water we provide, the governor and legislature ignore our warnings and demands for action. Apparently, safe drinking water is only a priority if you are fortunate enough to live in a lake house on West Okoboji or Spirit Lake.

If you want to know why water quality isn’t taken seriously at the state capitol, look no further than misinformation from legislators about the source of Iowa drinking water. It’s as embarrassing as the water quality in our lakes and rivers.

What will it take to get our elected officials to pass meaningful water quality legislation? Will it take a catastrophe like the ones experienced in Toledo, Ohio or Flint, Mich.? I hope not.

William Stowe is the CEO and general manager of Des Moines Water Works.