Kim Reynolds says clean water is a ‘priority,’ with a straight face

Nitrate pollution is no longer just some nebulous concept for residents of Iowa’s largest city, and the state’s capital.

For 600,000 people, the nutrient just got real.

Nitrate levels spiked in the city’s two surface drinking water supplies, the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers. The federal drinking water nitrate limit is no more than 10mg/L. In recent weeks, the Central Iowa Water Works has recorded nitrate levels nearly double the limit.

The city’s nitrate removal system is working overtime, but it is overwhelmed. So, the water works asked its customers to refrain from watering their lawns to reduce pressure on the removal system. There’s also talk of buying additional nitrate removal equipment

Des Moines drinking water has remained below 10mg/L. But barely, at times.

At the same time, a study commissioned by Polk County found 80% of nitrates flowing Des Moines’ way come from fertilizer used on vast croplands to the north and northwest. It found the rivers often have some of the highest nitrate levels in the nation.

Nitrate levels above 10mg/L can reduce the blood’s ability to carry oxygen in infants. But even at lower levels, nitrate exposure has been tied to premature birth and low birth weights, as well as some forms of cancer — colon, stomach and kidney.

Amanda Rooker, political reporter for KCCI TV in Des Moines, landed a rare interview and asked Gov. Kim Reynolds if the state needs regulations to cut the flow of nitrates.

Reynolds said regulation is “never” the answer.

“Really, we try to stay away from that as much as we can, but we have made progress … the last time they actually measured this, it had gone down. So, you know … Mother Nature has a big impact on how this impacts the system,” Reynolds said.

“We’ll continue to make it a priority, as we have throughout my administration, and we’ll continue to look for just innovative ways that we can help make sure that we have the water quality that Iowans deserve,” Reynolds said.

A priority? As in, it’s a priority to do next to nothing.

Well, she is giving us the water quality she thinks we deserve. Some of our waterways are glorified sewers. Maybe you can ask her about it, if she auctions herself off for delightful lunch at some big pork baron’s shindig.

That’s quite a pile of hokum. I can see my house from here.

“It’s just one lie after another,” retired University of Iowa research engineer Chris Jones, a water quality expert who watched the interview, told me.

The biggest lie, Jones said, is the governor’s claim the nitrate load making its way into waterways is “going down.” Farmers are not using less nitrogen fertilizer.

In 2024, Jones said farmers used 197 pounds of fertilizer per acre, more than enough to grow corn. But there’s also livestock manure, which adds up to another 105 pounds per acre. So that’s 302 pounds of fertilizer available per acre.

Most of the manure is spread in the fall with no crop to soak it up, creating a higher risk of effluent ending up in waterways.

A study using data from Iowa State University and the University of Illinois. found fertilizer use has been increasing for decades. It’s not going down. It’s been rising about 1.2% each year for 30 years.

Reynolds blames “Mother Nature,” for following droughts with “deluge.” But Jones points out the weather, statewide, has not been extreme.

Jones said between 2021 and 2024, Iowa saw 124 inches of rainfall. That makes it the 46th driest period according to records. Add in 2020, and it’s the 39th driest. So, Iowa’s weather was dry, but hardly historically dry statewide. A relatively frequent deviation from normal still fueled high nitrate levels. That’s a problem and it’s not Mother Nature’s fault.

Closer to home base, Cedar Rapids also has seen nitrate spikes in the Cedar River, although the city’s treatment systems, which collect water from sandy wells along the river, are producing water below the federal nitrate limit. But the Cedar is not getting any cleaner.

The Department of Natural Resources tried to remove a Cedar River segment rolling into Cedar Rapids from the impaired waterways list. They had to be joking.

But, if we just fork over more of our tax dollars to coax farmers into doing the right thing, we’re golden. It’s a slam dunk.

An Iowa State survey released in 2024 found roughly half of hundreds of central Iowa farmers surveyed were unfamiliar with edge-of-field conservation practices to curb nitrate pollution. And most said they don’t know farmers who have put the practices in place. Don’t tell the governor, who said we’re “doing all of the conservation practices.”

“Attaining the targeted 45% total load reductions in both nitrogen and phosphorus draining into Iowa waterways is simply not possible without extensively employing these EOF practices, and yet they are used on less than 1% of Iowa farmland today,” said Jacqueline Comito, adjunct assistant faculty at Iowa State University and Iowa Learning Farms director.

As for Iowa’s alarming cancer rate, Reynolds pointed to obesity and alcohol consumption. She left out nitrates. How odd.

Iowa’s voluntary approach is failing the people of Iowa and our natural resources. It’s past time to be talking about what can be done to compel landowners to adopt clean water practices. You know, laws.

Trouble is the whole state regulatory structure is controlled by agricultural interests. That goes for the Legislature, as well.

When will we get laws? Never is the likely answer.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com