Iowa’s water woes seemed slightly less woeful after the state received a $97 million federal grant for water quality and flooding projects, reports The Des Moines Register. The paper said Iowa was one of 13 states and cities to receive $1 billion in grants from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A summary of the state’s application said it is an agricultural leader “but its modern agricultural landscape has also reduced the land’s natural resilience, impacting flooding and water quality throughout the state,” the Register said.
Apart from all the presidential hopefuls visiting Iowa, the state has earned media attention of late for a lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works against three rural counties. The case could set a nationwide precedent if DMWW can convince the court that the counties violated the Clean Water Act by allowing excess nitrates from agricultural runoff into the Raccoon River, which serves as the main drinking water source for Des Moines’ 500,000 residents.
Governor Terry Branstad has proposed his own controversial solution to the nitrate problem, suggesting that a 1-cent sales tax currently earmarked for public schools be extended through 2049 and divided between the schools and water-quality programs. Although this would ultimately provide $20.7 billion for schools and over $4.6 billion for water quality, reports Politico, Branstad has been accused of pitting education and the environment against each other. Bill Stowe, CEO of the Des Moines Water Works, says that the public grant money shouldn’t go to solve what is the agricultural industry’s problem.
“Now instead of education and clean water, we’re mixing flooding and clean water, with no specific measurements, no specific time frames, and no specific deliverables with consequences” if the state fails to reach its goals, Stowe told The Des Moines Register.