We need regulations to clean up water in Iowa

Thanks in large part to nitrate fertilizer pollution from farming operations in Iowa, the state’s waterways, which are public resources, have become public health threats.

A case in point is Des Moines, where the city's water works is struggling to remove high levels of nitrate from its drinking water sources, the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. To help the nitrate removal system keep up with high nitrate levels, the Des Moines Water Works mandated a lawn-watering ban for its 600,000 customers.

Drinking water, according to federal law, must have a nitrate level less than 10 milligrams per liter. As of last week, nitrate levels in the Raccoon River hit 15.93 mg/L while the level reached 12.28 in the Des Moines River, according to the Des Moines Register.

Drinking water with a concentration above 10 mg/L can harm babies by impeding the absorption of oxygen in their blood, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The National Cancer Institute has found that long-term, lower exposure to nitrate is tied to increased risks of colon, kidney, and stomach cancer.

This is particularly concerning in Iowa, which has one of the nation’s highest cancer rates.

So, what are we going to do about this? If our history is any guide, the answer is nothing.

Some farmers and landowners have adopted practices aimed at reducing nitrate runoff with the help of state or federal financial assistance. We certainly appreciate their efforts, but there are too few volunteers to make significant progress toward cutting the nitrate load in rivers and streams, all the way to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Counting these conservation projects is how state leaders measure progress, but there is no effort to measure whether taxpayers are getting results.

So, we’ve got pictures and sound bites. But the water remains dirty.

During a recent interview by Des Moines TV station KCCI, Gov. Kim Reynolds blamed the weather. She falsely claimed that the use of nitrate fertilizer is decreasing. It’s been steadily growing for decades, according to Iowa State University research. So has the massive network of drainage tiles that carries water from fields into waterways.

When asked if regulations may be needed to protect Iowa waters, the governor balked at the idea. Regarding cancer, Reynolds seems more interested in cancer tied to obesity and alcohol consumption, not farm chemicals.

So, indifference remains the go-to strategy for our state leaders. A city of 600,000 people risks losing access to water, so a small number of landowners and farmers in northwest and north central Iowa don’t have to be told what to do.

Doing nothing is not acceptable. What’s needed is enforceable standards, regulations that hold polluters accountable and monitoring systems that track whether Iowa’s water is getting cleaner. Hogs and corn are not more important than the health of Iowans.

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