The Des Moines Water Works trustees are expected to vote today to sue three farming counties in northwestern Iowa for high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, one of two watersheds tapped for drinking water in Iowa’s capital city. The Water Works blames the high nitrate levels on agricultural runoff in Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties and says it has to run a supplemental water treatment facility at a cost of $7,000 a day to clean the water, says Agriculture.com.
Graham Gillette, chairman of the board of trustees, told Agriculture.com the suit would be directed at county officials who oversee drainage districts that manage runoff, and not at individual farmers. The news site says, “Recent water testing conducted by the U.S. Geologic Survey and validated by the Iowa Soybean Association shows nitrate levels almost four times the level allowed by law in the three counties targeted by the lawsuit, a Des Moines Water Works document shows.” Gillette says he recognizes the importance of agriculture in Iowa but the issue is the cost of water quality.
The Des Moines Register says Gillette expected a unanimous vote at the afternoon meeting and quoted him as saying, “We feel we really have no choice.” Nitrates occur naturally in the earth and can spike in surface water when manure or fertilizer is washed off of fields, feedlots and lawns. Levels often are highest after spring rains. The Iowa Farm Bureau called the potential lawsuit unprecedented and un-Iowan, said the Register. A Water Works official said voluntary efforts to curb nitrate runoff were not working.
High levels of nitrates in drinking water have been linked to various cancers and “blue baby” syndrome, when an infant’s blood cannot carry enough oxygen. The federal limit for nitrate in drinking water is 10 milligrams per liter.