Iowans deserve a safe day at the beach

If you need more evidence Iowa is failing to make progress on cleaning up its water, head to the beach. Although swimming might be a bad idea.

According to reporting by The Gazette’s Jared Strong, Iowa state beaches have seen 111 weekly warnings about unsafe concentrations of bacteria and toxins spawned by algae blooms. The number of beaches declared unsafe is more than any of the last seven years.

It’s a dubious record as beach season continues through Labor Day.

Hot weather and wet conditions provided a formula for bacterial growth. Heavy rainfall washings more bacteria into waterways, Algae blooms are fed by the same weather conditions, along with fertilizer running off cropland.

Beaches at Backbone State Park and Beeds Lake led in the beaches deemed unsafe for swimming, due to bacteria. In Washington County, Lake Darling has seen weeks of unsafe concentrations of algae toxins.

High levels of contaminants can cause a variety of rashes, infections and in some cases more serious health conditions.

In 2019, groups that care about water quality petitioned the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission to set numeric standards for nutrient pollution with hopes of protecting stats lakes. The commission denied the request, arguing that setting pollution standards might lead to costly clean ups the state can’t afford.

So, in the eyes of state regulators, most with ties to agriculture, what we don’t know won’t hurt us. And we don’t have to pay for the damage poor water quality has done.

Of course, this is unacceptable. For Iowans who want to enjoy a day at the beach and for rural communities where state parks and lakes are economic engines bringing visitors and tourism dollars small business depend on.

But the state has no plan meaningfully alter the status quo. From the governor’s office on down through the bureaucracy, agricultural interests own the regulatory process. There’s nowhere to turn for Iowans concerned about the environmental cost of lax regulation.

Iowans deserve better. They deserve a clean environment. They deserve a day at the beach.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com