The Des Moines Water Works won national attention with its lawsuit to force regulation of nutrient runoff from farms. Now, the Republican-controlled Iowa House is considering a bill to dismantle the Water Works board and replace it with a regional utility, says Iowa Public Radio.
Critics say the goal of the bill is to stop the federal lawsuit against three counties in northwestern Iowa that seeks to regulate farm runoff under the clean water law. Des Moines is the only metro utility board that would be broken up under the legislation. At a public hearing, Des Moines city manager Scott Sanders said the bill would modernize the water delivery system. Water utilities in four cities around the state spoke against the bill during the hearing.
At present the Water Works, which serves 500,000 customers in Des Moines and its suburbs, has a board appointed by the mayor of the capital city. Under the bill, a new board, drawn from municipalities that buy water from the utility, would direct its operations. Water Works has $250 million in assets.
The Des Moines Register says an Iowa Senate subcommittee approved a separate bill to replace the Water Works with a regional water authority on Feb. 23, “after an acrimonious meeting where no one testified in support of the measure … The bill was advanced on a 2-1 vote to the Senate Agriculture Committee by a panel composed solely of legislators who are also farmers.” At that hearing, a lobbyist for the Water Works said the bill “is about one thing, it is about eliminating the lawsuit.”