Iowa's contaminated water demands action

Every Iowan should read the factual article by Scott McFetridge, Associated Press, which ran in Iowa newspapers recently.

All Iowans should be seriously alarmed by the dangerous quality of Des Moines’ drinking water, which in all likelihood is not Iowa’s only contaminated water source.

You will realize again that it is imperative to take action to alleviate the continuous nitrate pollution of Iowa waters.

Voluntary methods have been tried for many years, and we see now that it does not work. Voluntary efforts only clean water from a small portion of Iowa’s 23 million acres of corn and soy. Our ill placed practice of “tiling” hurts the health of Iowa’s soil and water by channeling every drop of water directly into runoff.

All farmers should build buffer strips and plant cover crops. CAFOs should be limited. The millions of dollars needed to purify water should be used to compensate farmers for ecological practices.

Iowa’s Soil Conservation and Water Committee’s 2019 decision to reject buffer strips was unwise for the well-being of Iowans.

Aside from poisoned drinking water, Iowa has seen major negative consequences of non-sustainable farm practices. In nature all things are connected.

Iowa does not exist as an island onto itself, but as a small portion of the earth. Floods and droughts are consequences of our actions.

Renata Sack

Waterloo