Bill Stowe, a central figure in the 2015 lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works that tried to hold drainage districts in three northwest Iowa counties responsible for nutrient runoff from farms, died of cancer on Sunday at age 60. He retired as general manager of the utility on April 2 because of the illness, said the Des Moines Register.
Agricultural runoff generally is exempt from water pollution laws. But the Des Moines utility hoped to set a precedent by arguing that locally run drainage districts were identifiable “point” sources of pollution and should be required to meet federal clean-water standards. Excess nitrate that arises from fertilizer ended up in the Raccoon River, the source of drinking water for Des Moines and its suburbs. The Water Works board approved the lawsuit because of the high cost of removing the nitrate to meet drinking water standards.
But in March 2017, U.S. District Chief Judge Leonard Strand, based in Sioux City, dismissed the lawsuit and said it was the state’s job to deal with water quality problems. The Water Works board decided not to appeal the dismissal and Stowe called on the Legislature to “create bold laws that address water pollution.”
Stowe grew up on a farm in central Iowa and eventually earned master’s degrees in engineering and labor relations, capped by a law degree. He worked for oil, coal and power companies before becoming human resources director for Des Moines. He served as the city’s public works director for 13 years and became the manager of the Water Works in 2012. The Register described Stowe as “a community leader known for his wavy silvery hair and unwavering commitment to Iowa’s water quality.”
In late March, the activist group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and the environmental group Food and Water Watch filed suit in state court in Des Moines asking for mandatory limits on nitrogen and phosphorus pollution entering the Raccoon Rivert watershed and a mortorium on new or expanded hog feedlots in the watershed, said the AP.