Letter: Will Iowa learn a lesson from Flint?

What is happening in Flint, Mich., is an outrage. Their government allowed the water sources to be poisoned over a period of a couple of years and they will be facing the repercussions for generations.

We are fortunate to be able to learn lessons about their situation and apply what we learn to Iowa's increasing water pollution problem.

It is time that we demand accountability of factory farms who are producing billions of gallons of toxic, untreated manure and the policy makers who lack the political will to provide oversight and enforce Clean Water Act standards.

Almost 60 percent of Iowa's waterways are polluted, rising by 15 percent in two years. In addition to fertilizer runoff into our water, there is improper disposal and runoff of the massive amounts of manure generated by the animals in factory farms. The Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency are failing to do their jobs because they lack the funding and staffing to inspect the over 9,000 factory farms in the state. Gov. Terry Branstad's relationship with corporate agriculture has exacerbated the situation and he is comparable to the mayor of Flint, who puts special interests before the people he is elected to serve.

Flint's water supply was destroyed in two years; How long will it take for us to stand up and demand the same doesn't happen in Iowa?

Jade Howser

Iowa City