Days after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works against farm runoff, the City Council voted to support a bill in the Iowa House allowing regionalization of the water utility, said The Des Moines Register. The chief executive of the Water Works says the regionalization bill, sponsored by a legislator who is a hog farmer, is retaliation for the lawsuit, which wanted to apply water pollution laws to agricultural runoff.
Marc Wallace, a member of the Water Works board of trustees, said the council vote was “a betrayal by the city” of the 98-year-old independent utility. Water Works provides drinking water for 500,000 in Des Moines and its suburbs.
The city’s lobbyists registered at the Statehouse in support of the bill when it was filed on Feb. 15. After weeks of controversy, council member Skip Moore asked for a vote “to show where the council stands.” The council voted on whether to oppose the regionalization bill. Two members, Moore and Bill Gray, voted for the motion and four voted against it, said the Register. As a result, the city remains registered in support of the bill.
To read about the federal court case, click here.