Des Moines Water Works releases new details about record nitrate event, levels also high elsewhere in Iowa

Update 5/14:  In a news release, the City of Cedar Rapids said it is also monitoring nitrate levels in the Cedar River, noting a nitrate monitor upstream of the measured a nitrate level of 18.5 mg/L, which the city’s water utility called “one of [the] highest nitrate levels ever measured in the Cedar River.” At this time, Cedar Rapids drinking water is meeting the EPA’s safe water guidelines.

This afternoon, the Des Moines Water Works officially released details about Last week’s record nitrate levels in both the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers.  According to the release, “This new record follows the continued upward trend of nitrate concentrations since fertilizer use and increased row-crop agriculture began in the mid-1960s. It has been calculated that last week’s nitrate load surpassed last year’s entire nitrate load.”

Bill Stowe, head of the Water Works, has not minced words as he has described the nitrate removal challenge the Water Works faces or its causes.

“The optimal solution to prevent nitrate concentrations from entering our source water is through watershed protection programs and good land management practices,” said Stowe.

“However, the recently published Nutrient Reduction Strategy is inadequate in that it lacks vision, goals, measurable outcomes, or timelines for agricultural (non-point) discharges.  Without significant action, Des Moines Water Works will be forced to continue treating degraded source waters, and our customers will continue to pay for that extensive treatment in their rates,” he said.

The Des Moines Water Works is a cooperator member of the Iowa Environmental Council.  The Council has also been strongly critical of Iowa’s nutrient reduction strategy, arguing that it lacks clear timetables or standards for measuring success.

A survey of available water quality data by the Iowa Environmental Council Monday showed Des Moines is not the only place where high nitrate levels are being recorded.

At 3 p.m. Monday, nitrate levels were 26.8 mg/L on the Raccoon River near Jefferson, 28.18 mg/L on the Boone River near Webster City, and 17.8 mg/L on the Cedar River near Palo.  (Real-time nitrogen monitoring data is provided by the United States Geological Survey.)

The highest recorded nitrate concentration was 40.9 mg/L on Lyons Creek near Webster City.

The EPA’s safe drinking water standard for treated drinking water is 10 mg/L.

Heathcote: Record water pollution in Raccoon reminds us of urgent need for clean water action

Following reports that nitrate levels in the Raccoon River have set a new record this week, reaching more than twice the federal drinking water standard, the Iowa Environmental Council’s water program director, Susan Heathcote, released a short statement.

“Last November, Secretary of Agriculture Northey and other state government leaders released a strategy to reduce Iowa’s nitrogen and phosphorous contributions to the Gulf of Mexico by 45% statewide.”

“The announcement of record nitrogen pollution levels in the Raccoon River is a reminder that nitrogen and phosphorous pollution is also a serious threat to clean water here in Iowa.  It has been for decades.  Despite this, Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy fails to set local nitrogen and phosphorous reduction goals for cleaner water necessary to protect the health and well-being of Iowans.

“Local pollution reduction goals are critical to motivating Iowa farmers and landowners to make the significant changes necessary to ensure clean water.  Iowans should be confident efforts to reduce this pollution will protect those who want clean water for drinking and recreation in Iowa as well as downstream.

“Iowans should call on state government leaders to include local pollution reduction goals, timelines and accountability measures in Iowa’s strategy.”

Previously:  The Council’s executive director, Ralph Rosenberg, outlined our main concerns about Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

Will you be Iowa’s next Master River Steward?

Iowa Rivers Revival, an Iowa Environmental Council member organization, is looking for for river enthusiasts to participate in Iowa Rivers Revival’s “Master River Steward Program” in the Des Moines/Raccoon River Watershed.

This will be IRR’s second year offering this program. The eight week course will focus on riverine systems, including skills to paddle and navigate rivers,
restore aquatic habitat, improve water quality, and understand policies related to floodplains, river protection and restoration. The “Master River Steward
Program” will build on a network of river experts in various partner agencies and organizations. It will help adult learners collaborate to protect and
improve Iowa’s rivers, so that current and future generations can enjoy these resources.

Have you seen the spring “Clean Water Starts with Us?

By APRIL SIGMUND, Council communications intern

Clean Water Starts with Us, an e-newsletter produced for watershed coordinators and those interested in improving water quality in their communities, has released its quarterly edition.

One article in the newsletter highlights a study conducted by Iowa State University on sediment deposits in Iowa’s lakes and rivers. The study shows that despite soil conservation efforts across Iowa, sediment deposit growth is accelerating at the bottom of Iowa’s lakes (p. 3).

Results of this study have its authors concerned that the increase in soil buildup could cause damage to wildlife habitats and other problems.

Also featured in the latest edition–a new resource available for communities engaging in watershed improvement projects. Iowa Learning Farms has produced “Watershed-based Community Assessments,” a toolkit containing steps communities should take to successfully complete a water quality improvement project. The toolkit focuses around involving thoughts and opinions of local watershed residents when carrying out a project.

Download and read the Clean Water Starts With Us spring edition here.

Clean Water Starts With Us is a quarterly electronic newsletter from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – Division of Soil Conservation (DSC) and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

At mid-term, a time to assess progress in the legislature

Our supporters across Iowa consistently tell us that timely, accurate information about activity in Iowa’s legislature is one of the Council’s services they value most.

The Council provides a free weekly summary of current environmental legislation, the Legislative News Bulletin, via e-mail, which this year has reported information on more than 70 bills so far.  By reviewing that publication closely, many of the Council’s members and supporters have provided us valuable feedback to refine and focus our positions on issues.

The Council and our members devote considerable resources to monitoring and speaking out on environmental legislation.  Through our action alert system, you can speak out yourself by offering your thoughts on legislation to your elected officials when important decisions are being made.

We consider all the bills we track to be important, but below, we have summarized information about some of the bills of greatest concern to our members.

Bills related to spending on environmental programs

The Council is working to ensure Iowa’s investments in natural resources produce the results for clean water and a healthy environment that Iowans want.

SSB1245: Proposed Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget

The Senate’s proposed budget for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources contains significant advances for natural resource protection:

The proposal would

• provide necessary funding for additional livestock inspectors, restoring past cuts to the Department of Natural Resources’ inspections staff while helping protect Iowa’s waters from harmful manure spills. The Council believes more inspections are needed to protect Iowa’s waters from harmful manure spills and to fulfill Iowa’s responsibilities under the federal Clean Water Act.
• Provide full funding for Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection Program to support projects that enhance Iowans’ quality of life all across the state. As a member of the Iowa REAP Alliance, the Council strongly supports the REAP Program.

The bill also includes additional funding for conservation action on Iowa farms following the release of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy by Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and other state officials late last year. The Council and partners support additional funding to increase soil and water conservation on Iowa’s farms, yet have consistently called for more accountability and transparency, establishment of timelines and deadlines, and clearer goals in this pollution reduction effort.

HF92 (House)/SF268 (Senate): Legislation to increase the sales tax to fund conservation

Legislation has been introduced this year to raise Iowa’s sales tax by 3/8 of a cent to provide Iowa’s Natural Resource and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund more than $120 million annually to support clean water and natural resource conservation. Sponsors of this legislation are Rep. Chuck Isenhart (D-Dubuque) and Sen. Dick Dearden (D-Des Moines). The Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy coalition, of which the Council is a member, has additional information about this effort on its website.

More to come soon

Legislation to provide funding for public access and enjoyment of Iowa’s rivers as well as the state’s public lake restoration program has not yet been introduced. Appropriations bills that discuss these programs’ budgets are expected soon.

Environmental roll-back bills

These bills risk weakening existing environmental protections in Iowa. For two of them, beneficial amendments have reduced the Council’s concerns.

HF512 (House)/SF418 (Senate): Potential rollback of livestock manure storage standards

Manure spills can wreak havoc on aquatic ecosystems. According to the Council’s analysis, illegal manure spills killed more than 1.2 million fish in Iowa in the last ten years.

In the legislature, SF418/HF512 would allow certain livestock facilities to reclassify themselves as “small operations” by idling livestock production in one or more buildings. Once reclassified, an operation would be exempt from paying annual compliance fees and submitting regular manure management plans.

The House version of this bill passed the full House by a vote of 83-16 on April 1. Before passage, the House rejected a beneficial amendment by Rep. Chuck Isenhart (D-Dubuque) that would have would have barred livestock producers from storing manure in idled buildings “from a location outside the confinement feeding operation.”

The Council is concerned the bill would permit unregulated manure storage in supposedly idle buildings, which could raise the risk of a harmful spill. Several of the Council’s concerns could be addressed through an amendment to this bill that would limit manure storage in the idle building to “emergencies only” and require notification of the DNR when such actions take place. After House passage, that amendment would need to come from the Senate.

HF311: Reducing public notification for certain environmental permits, including for livestock facilities

HF311 would have eliminated a requirement that DNR provide public notice for certain stormwater permits in two local newspapers, but an amendment has reduced that risk. The public notifications in question are important because they are the only way for members of a local community to find out about potential development projects—including development of certain new animal feeding operations—that will disturb more than one acre of land and potentially have other environmental impacts. Rep. Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) offered an amendment in the House that recognized the need for public notification by keeping the requirement but reducing it to publication in one local paper. The House also removed the potentially harmful automatic approval of DNR permits in the event application is not acted upon within 90 days. The Senate sub-committee appears to be supportive of the maintenance of a public notice requirement, and the Council is continuing to monitor the bill.

SF272: Eliminating a needed protection for Iowa wetlands

Restored wetland in Iowa. (Photo: Lynn Betts/NRCS)

Historically, Iowa had as many as 4-6 million acres of wetlands, more than 90% of which have been drained. Because Iowa’s remaining acres are so critical for habitat, filtering water, and holding back floods, the Council supports Iowa leadership for protecting what remains. Iowa law currently contains a wetland permitting program which includes protections for isolated wetlands that are not otherwise protected by the Clean Water Act and “Swampbuster” portions of the Farm Bill. The Council sees maintaining this state permit program as a way of keeping these wetlands from falling through the cracks between other programs; similar state-based protections exist in other states. The Iowa Senate’s version of the bill (SF272) originally proposed to eliminate the state permit program until the bill was amended by Sen. Chris Brase (D-Muscatine). The Council will continue to monitor the bill.

Advancing clean energy in Iowa

The following bills advance Iowa’s transition toward cleaner sources of energy, such as wind and solar.

SF372: Ensuring Iowa farmers and land owners receive a fair price for electricity they generate

An Iowa wind energy incentive (feed-in tariff) bill that recently passed the Iowa Senate Agriculture Committee has received national attention as a way to ensure Iowa farmers and rural landowners who install a wind turbine receive a fair price from utilities for electricity they generate. The bill faces stiff opposition from utilities, but the Council supports this policy as a way to continue to expand and diversify wind energy’s role in Iowa.

SSB1175/SSB1136/SF414: Tax incentives, grants and loans for wind and solar

Three bills are pending that would improve tax incentive programs and establish new grant and loan programs for wind and solar. Last year, the Iowa Legislature created a tax credit program for solar power in Iowa that could support a dramatic expansion of solar energy in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Revenue reported in January that in 2012, 64 solar projects have been granted the credit, including 50 projects by individuals and 14 by Iowa businesses. SSB 1175 would ensure that unused credits are reserved for future years and would allow businesses to install multiple projects and receive multiple credits in a single year. Both SSB 1136 and SF 414 provide incentives for wind projects in Iowa’s Small Wind Innovation Zones, which are local communities that adopt wind-friendly policies that the Council helped develop. SSB 1136 also extends Iowa’s wind energy tax incentives while SF 414 primarily establishes new grant and loan programs for wind and solar.

Want more legislative information?

The Iowa Environmental Council tracks dozens of environmental bills, and provides a weekly Legislative News Bulletin that summarizes our positions.  You can sign up to receive this e-mail on the Council’s website.

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