Water quality needs leadership, not lawsuits

To the editor:

Like most issues, there are two sides to the Des Moines Water Works lawsuit regarding nitrates in the Raccoon River.

A recent letter writer to The Gazette championed the DMWW action as a 'moral obligation.” I disagree with that credit because the DMWW dumps the nitrates they remove back into the river below their treatment plant.

The same letter writer criticized farmers for adding to the cost of purifying drinking water. The naiveté of that cost argument is its blindness to the fact that modern agriculture has lowered the cost of food to just 7 percent of personal income. That's an important consideration when over 46 million people in this country depend on food aid.

The DMWW intent to sue is self-admittedly done with an eye toward allowing government to collect permit fees and penalties on subsurface drainage systems installed by land owners for the purpose of increasing production. However, this regulation would be unworkable. There could be over 2 million drainage outlets nationally and most were never officially recorded. Tenant farmers will not report outlet locations and risk landlord distain. Many landlords are too removed from the land to know where outlets exist. Smart minds recognize this, plus additional complications, and pursue a leadership approach that builds upon the improvements farmers have accomplished.

Fortunately, the Cedar Rapids area has Public Works Director Steve Hershner and Indian Creek Watershed Authority Director Jennifer Fencl who intend on avoiding adversarial attacks and instead provide leadership to assist best management practices.

Curt Zingula

Central City