WASHINGTON, Iowa — The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on March 17 dismissed in its entirety the Des Moines Water Works’ (DMWW) lawsuit against three county drainage districts over allegations of nitrate leakages into a major state river.

 

According to Kurt Hora, Iowa Corn Growers Assoc. president and Washington, Iowa, farmer, the federal Clean Water Act claim by DMWW was dismissed for “lack of standing,

considering the drainage districts’ limited status under Iowa law.”

Hora said, “This is good news for our state. The lawsuit has been a distraction

to the implementation of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which was started in

2013.

 

“This favorable outcome will allow Iowa farmers to continue to advance our efforts of improving soil and water conservation without the inflexibility of burdensome regulations,” he added. 

 

On March 16, 2015, DMWW filed the federal complaint in court for damages

and injunctive rights against the boards of supervisors of Sac, Calhoun and

Buena Vista counties for the alleged discharge of nitrate pollutants into the

Des Moines River, a source of drinking water for an estimated 500,000 central

Iowa customers.

 

However, in a 3-2 decision rendered Jan. 27, the court answered four certified

state law questions against certain charges DMWW made in the lawsuit. In

early February, the Iowa Supreme Court struck down the lawsuit filed by DMWW

against the three county drainage districts on charges of the presence of

nitrates in the Des Moines River.

 

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said the dismissal of the lawsuit is

“very welcome news and takes away an unnecessary distraction from the

collaborative efforts under way to improve water quality in Iowa.”

Moreover, if a bill introduced in February in the Iowa Legislature passes,

the proposed legislation would likely dissolve DMWW and substitute it with

a regional water authority placed under the control of local municipalities.

 

“The end result is rate payers are going to have a say (in how much they are

charged for water),” state Rep. Jarad Klein, R-Keota, the bill’s sponsor, said in

a March 17 interview with Farm World.

 

Under House File 316, DMWW’s fivemember board of directors would be

replaced and the water utility’s $250 million in assets would be distributed

to its surrounding cities via a resolution between city councils.

 

As a result, Klein said, the bill would effectively give voting power to water

service customers, “crafted by people in the Des Moines metro area.”

 

“We’re trying to make sure rate payers had a voice,” he said. “It would help

send a message that the majority of rate payers outside of Des Moines are unable

to vote.”

 

An Iowa Partnership for Clean Water (IPCW) report last year said the City of

Des Moines makes up about 40 percent of all water usage from DMWW, one of the

world’s largest nitrate removal facilities.

 

“The other 60 percent comes from areas outside the city limits; these businesses

and homeowners have no voice in the discussion,” the report read.

 

Last April, IPCW hosted a discussion regarding the feasibility of a regional

utility and the decisions needed to adequately serve central Iowa

communities.

 

“This conversation made clear that residents of the Des Moines metro area,

and surrounding rural and suburban communities, have not been afforded

significant input into governance or decision-making at DMWW, despite

the increasingly regional nature of the utility’s service,” the report said.

 

But Craig Robinson, DMWW CEO and COO, told Farm World his company is

opposed to the proposed legislation that would dissolve the three independent

water utilities in Polk County.

 

“There is absolutely no need to dismantle the water boards in the metro

area that have decades of experience of delivering safe and affordable drinking

water and have long histories of financial diligence that have resulted in healthy

water systems at relatively affordable rates,” he said.

 

In addition, Robinson said, water utility boards were set up independent from

city councils for a reason: to protect a public health necessity from politics.

“Currently, water rates are reinvested in the water system, funding imperative

capital improvements,” he said. “By dissolving independent water utilities

and transferring assets and management to city councils, water rates could be

funneled to the general fund of the City of Des Moines, circumventing needed

infrastructure plans.

 

However, Klein said the common theme from mayors of the Des Moines

metro area is the best solution for clean, affordable water is to have a regional

water authority.

 

“We’re helping to get the obstacles (of city councils) out of the way so

(customers) can determine their own destiny,” he said.

 

At a Feb. 20 Des Moines City Council meeting, Iowa Citizens for Community

Improvement (ICCI) members opposed House File 316, which they claimed

would eventually kill the DMWW lawsuit.  “I feel betrayed,” said Barb Lang, an

ICCI member from Des Moines. “The city council shut us out of the process.

Clearly, they didn’t want us to know that they’re caving to Big Ag.”

 

Currently, West Des Moines, Waukee and Urbandale are studying whether to

build new water treatment facilities to alleviate their dependence on DMWW,

the Des Moines Register reported. If approved, House File 316 would delay

those projects until at least July 1, 2018.

 

“This bill is helping the process,” Klein said.