Urban and rural residents must share responsibility for improving Iowa water quality

In response to Tom Fiegen's guest column ('Solving Iowa's water pollution problem,” March 15), I will deal with each of his claims as he wrote them.

First let me explain that I was a full-time farmer, having retired after planting and harvesting 46 crops in Linn County. Field drain tile is not a luxury, it is a very important part of growing a successful crop. I have no data to show the yield gains with proper tile drainage, but any farmer or landowner will tell you the difference is substantial.

Nitrogen does follow water, and excess can follow the drainage water into a field tile. Can Mr. Fiegan tell a farmer just when it is going to rain then get the nitrogen applied just before a rain that is not heavy enough to carry any nitrogen down to a drain tile? A substantial portion of farmers have their nitrogen custom applied. Can every farmer get a custom applicator to his cornfields on the same day? Not a chance. The custom applicators have to work when the weather and soil conditions alow. They need every good day the weather gives them to get everything done.

It is new information to me that there are farmers who have torn out terraces and waterways to accommodate their 24-row planters. I will not contest Mr. Fiegan's word, but I would have to be shown where this occurred.

The next point, Mr. Fiegan implies that there are no living retired farmers. They all died from chemical exposure. I am 74 and to my knowledge do not have cancer. Neither, to my knowledge, do my retired farmer neighbors.

Mr. Fiegan's claim is that farmers are 100 percent responsible for fertilizer or pesticide runoff. Someone please tell me how many acres of grass in lawns, parks and golf courses there are in Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha and Robins. Every home center is stocked to the gills with lawn fertilizer, pesticides of every description to kill bugs, grubs, gophers, moles, and so on. We haven't even touched on all the herbicide products to kill dandelions, crab grass, and whatever other weed or animal pest that can disturb a perfect turf. The runoff from the hundreds of acres of lawns has to go somewhere. Water still runs downhill until it reaches a river or stream. Just because lawns don't have drainage tile doesn't mean the runoff cannot get to a river on the surface as well as it can through a tile.

Mr. Fiegan's contention that farmers are fully responsible is totally false. Farmers and city dwellers need to share fairly in the costs involved.

' Frank J. Zieser is a retired farmer living in Cedar Rapids.