The Register's Editorial: Give us results, not spin, on water quality

The Des Moines Water Works lawsuit against three northern Iowa counties has prompted a war of words that has the potential to do great harm to this state.

The first salvo was fired by Gov. Terry Branstad, who accused the Des Moines utility of declaring war on rural Iowa. That was followed by state Sen. Randy Feenstra's call for a boycott of Des Moines by rural Iowans.

Now, a new advocacy group has been formed in reaction to the Water Works lawsuit financed by the Iowa Farm Bureau and backed by Des Moines City Council member Christine Hensley, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett and former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge.

Rather than allow the lawsuit to speak for itself, Des Moines Water Works General Manager Bill Stowe and Board of Trustees Graham Gillette have publicly fired back at critics.

FULL COVERAGE: Iowa Water Quality Issues

What we have here is not just a war of words between rural and urban Iowa, but an internecine battle between public officials in Des Moines and between two of the state's largest cities.

It's time for less rhetoric and more facts.

All Iowans have an interest in clean water, whether they farm or work in an office, whether they depend on private well water or live in a city that must meet federal drinking water regulations. Iowans who enjoy boating, swimming or fishing care about clean water. All Iowans should care about the condition of the water this state sends downstream all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

It's hard to see what the Iowa Partnership for Clean Water hopes to accomplish that hasn't been covered by the Farm Bureau and a long list of other advocacy groups, including the Iowa Soybean Association, Agriculture's Clean Water Alliance and the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance.

The new partnership hired a well-connected Des Moines marketing firm and plans $157,000 in television ads, presumably to put out a positive spin on what Iowa farmers have done and are doing to improve water quality.

That's fine, but it is time to move beyond anecdotal evidence of how many acres of cover crops and filter strips have been planted and instead focus on measurable improvement in water quality. It will be hard to put a positive spin on that, however, given the state's latest report showing a 15 percent increase in polluted waters over the past two years.

It is also time for a better perspective on how much is being invested in water quality efforts. The Branstad administration brags about its commitment of $57 million over two years, and the Farm Bureau cites the $11.8 million spent by Iowa farmers on watershed projects. These numbers are a drop in the bucket compared with the massive investment needed, which could be as much as $4 billion, according to the state's own Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

Iowa will have to significantly step up its investment in water quality, and much of it will be borne by Iowa taxpayers. In exchange, the state should measure whether that spending is producing meaningful results in water quality and meeting specific goals and timetables.

A debate is inevitable about how those goals should be achieved, but Iowans should pay attention to measurable progress on improving water quality, not spin from public relations consultants.