Water quality is an issue, too

We in Cedar Rapids have an even larger issue than flood protection. It is water quality.

Our previous flood director, Greg Eyerly, said the new water filtration plant that cost nearly $3 million is at capacity already for filtering out excessive nitrates and phosphates in our drinking water. He said the city is solving this problem temporarily by moving the well head location periodically to take advantage of the natural filtration properties of the soil around the well. We soon will run out of locations for new well heads.

The farming practices in the Cedar River watershed are the source of this problem. However, the farming community also needs our help collectively to solve their problem, along with the flooding protection. There is a common solution: numerous strategically placed retention basins upstream in the watershed that can detain runoff.

The Iowa Soil & Water Conservation division has demonstration retention basins in southeastern Iowa that are even surprising the participating farmers regarding improved water quality. This is a legislative issue. Our Legislature does not want to admit that Iowa has an unsustainable issue with the use of fertilizers. Louisiana is preparing for litigation against farm states that contribute to the 225-plus square miles of dead zone in their nearshore fishing waters, caused by our careless use of fertilizers.

Flood protection without safe water to drink is not a long-term tenable solution. They can be addressed collectively; demand it with your vote on Tuesday.

Don Palmer

Retired engineer,

Cedar River Watershed Coalition Committee Member

Cedar Rapids