A day after the Des Moines Water Works reported record daily use of its nitrate-removal equipment, the Agriculture Department offered to pay annual rent to landowners to enroll up to 85,000 acres of farmland in programs to reduce runoff. The utility filed suit in federal court against drainage districts in three agricultural counties in northwestern Iowa last March 16, blaming them for allowing excessive amounts of nutrients into the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for 500,000 people in the state’s capital city. The trial was tentatively scheduled for this summer. The lawsuit has turned national attention on water quality.
Conservation programs have reduced nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into the Mississippi River basin by one-fifth, says the USDA, so the nutrient-management initiative for Iowa could achieve noteworthy results. Besides long-term land idling, the project utilizes existing USDA programs that share the cost of conservation work on farms and assist small communities in building water and wastewater treatment plants. Under one element, the USDA would work with state officials to remove barriers to voluntary retirement of environmentally sensitive farmland in the Raccoon River watershed in exchange for federal and state payments.
“Today, USDA is making a decade-long commitment to Iowa producers and residents to provide coordination, assistance and greater access to available programming above and beyond what we currently offer,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former two-term governor of the Hawkeye State. “In 2016, we will begin by making available up to 85,000 new acres for rental payments reserved for the most sensitive lands, equivalent to roughly a $175 million investment into the state’s land resources.” The land would include up to 75,000 acres for wildlife habitat and 10,000 acres in restored wetlands and wetland buffers to improve water flow and vegetation.
The Des Moines Water Works says it spent $1.5 million in 2015 to reduce nitrate levels in drinking water to the levels set by law. The denitrification equipment was used for a record 177 days last year, or nearly half of the year. “Water Works CEO Bill Stowe says upstream farm drainage systems washing fertilizer from fields are the largest contributors to high nitrate rates,” reports the Des Moines Register. “The counties say there’s no proof farm fields 200 miles upstream cause Des Moines’ nitrate problems.”
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad proposed on Tuesday to extend a one-cent school tax and divert part of it to underwrite water quality projects. KCCI-TV quoted Branstad as saying, “We’re trying to do something big and bold in a way to unite the state — do great for education and water quality. This is the most enthused I’ve been about any issue in a long time, see a chance to make a difference in a year when the state is facing substantial challenges.” Vilsack appeared at a new conference with Branstad and said the water quality needed immediate attention.
“The Des Moines Water Works lawsuit brought attention and focus to this issue, but I suspect that all of us believe that the ultimate resolution of our water quality issues ought not to be in a courtroom,” said Vilsack, according to Radio Iowa. Some lawmakers were dubious of diverting money earmarked for school infrastructure. “According to Branstad, there’s no appetite for raising taxes to find money to resolve water quality issues, so extending an already existing tax seems the best alternative,” said Radio Iowa.
On its website, the utility says, “The current denitrification technology is outdated and cannot continue to operate with rising nitrate levels and increased customer demand. Continued high nitrate concentrations will require future capital investments of $76-183 million to remove the pollutant and provide safe drinking water to a growing central Iowa.”
The lawsuit, which asks for compensation for nitrate pollution of river water, says the drainage districts should be classified as “point sources” of pollution and subject to clean-water regulations. Many agricultural practices are exempt.
A USDA report said 36 percent of corn farmers applied more nitrogen fertilizer than recommended for plant needs, said the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. “Nitrate, the nitrogen form used by plants, is water soluble and can be easily lost, causing water quality problems hundreds of miles from the source.”