MONEY

Most Iowans support water pollution lawsuit, poll says

Donnelle Eller
deller@dmreg.com

A whopping 63 percent of Iowans believe Des Moines Water Works should pursue a lawsuit against drainage districts in three northwest Iowa counties after testing showed record nitrate levels in streams feeding a river supplying much of central Iowa's drinking water.

Des Moines Water Works claims that the drainage districts, and indirectly farmers, are raising nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, a source of water for 500,000 Iowa residents.

The utility says it has been forced since early December to use expensive equipment to remove nitrates to make drinking water safe, especially for infants who are at risk at becoming ill when levels are high.

Men and women, rich and poor, and Iowans of all age groups support Water Works' potential lawsuit, according to a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll. The lawsuit could force federal oversight that would hold farmers more accountable for runoff seeping into area waterways.

Only 23 percent of Iowans say that Water Works is taking the wrong approach, according to the poll. Another 14 percent of Iowans are unsure.

But that support shifts dramatically depending on Iowans' political party and where they live. The poll shows that 79 percent of Democrats approve of the potential lawsuit, compared with 51 percent of Republicans.

And while 71 percent of urban residents support the lawsuit, that support drops to 63 percent among small-town residents. Rural residents are split, with 44 percent saying Water Works is right and 42 percent saying the utility is wrong; 14 percent aren't sure.

The most recent Iowa Poll of 807 Iowa adults was conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Concern about nitrates

Laurie Maloney, an Iowa Poll respondent who lives near New Albin in northeast Iowa, said she supports Iowa's farmers, but she believes they need a push to add conservation practices.

"The price of corn went up so high for a few years, people took every inch that might have been a buffer and put it into corn," said Maloney, who works in conservation. "That really reduced the filtering capabilities of the soil. That's taken a lot of buffering out, and we're seeing a lot of flooding."

Maloney is also worried about nitrates that might migrate from fields when manure is applied.

"I'm a rural resident ... and I'm surrounded by ag land," Maloney said. "I'm concerned about the nitrates in well water for myself and for farmers."

Agriculture and state leaders say they are concerned about water quality as well, but they say litigation is the wrong course of action. Their ranks include Gov. Terry Branstad, who has said a lawsuit would polarize Iowans over an issue that requires long-term cooperation.

"All of us agree we want clean water. The real question is how do we move forward and make real progress," said Roger Wolf, director of the Iowa Soybean Association's environmental programs. "That's what we're focused on."

But John Halstead, a poll respondent from Urbandale, said he doubts that water quality will improve without regulations that address nutrient runoff.

"There are a lot of farmers who embrace conservation, but there are many who do not," Halstead said. "We live in a state where Republicans want less government, fewer laws and fewer regulations. But fewer controls cause damage for people in the long run.

"Unless water quality issues are corrected, they're just going to get worse," said Halstead, who worries about his grandchildren having access to quality water in the future for drinking and recreation.

Maloney and Halstead consider water quality the state's most pressing issue, but they were in the minority, according to the Iowa Poll.

Only 46 percent of Iowans say it should be a top priority for the governor and Legislature. More Iowans say that fixing the state's roads and bridges and improving funding for education is more important, the poll found.

Addressing the problem

In 2013, the state adopted a plan, called the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, to cut by 45 percent the nitrogen and phosphorous that enters Iowa waterways and eventually contributes to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico each summer.

The state, farmers, landowners and others are investing about $16 million in 13 watersheds to build and test conservation practices such as cover crops, wetlands and bioreactors to improve water quality.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other farm leaders say Iowa's broader, more holistic approach to engage farmers will be more effective in reducing nutrients in waterways than years of legal wrangling.

Stuart Seedorff, a poll respondent who farmed part-time in northeast Iowa before retiring a couple years ago, also believes there's a better approach than litigation, possibly a combination of voluntary work by farmers and a nudge from state lawmakers.

"There could be better farming practices ... but many farmers won't voluntarily change their ways," Seedorff said.

For example, Seedorff would support legislation that would prohibit farmers from applying nitrogen to farmland in the fall, prepping it for the spring crop. "A lot of people put nitrogen on in the fall. I think that's a horrible idea. The farmer can lose a lot of it, depending on the weather," he said.

Some experts have said it would be nearly impossible to supply all of Iowa's nitrogen needs in the spring. Many farmers split their nitrogen applications between spring and fall.

About the poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted Feb. 15-18 for The Des Moines Register by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 807 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research of Ogden, Utah, contacted households with randomly selected landline and cellphone numbers supplied by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent census data.

Questions based on the sample of 807 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the percentages shown here by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register is prohibited.

At a glance

What's the lawsuit about:

Des Moines Water Works says in the pending lawsuit that drainage tiles used by farmers on about 9 million acres act as a conduit for nutrients to enter streams and rivers. The pending lawsuit seeks to bring farmers, though the drainage districts, under federal oversight. The Clean Water Act now exempts many farm activities, but the litigation could bring new regulations to farmers in Iowa and the United States.

What's next:

The utility's board is expected to hold a special meeting March 10 to decide whether to pursue the lawsuit. "As we walk this forward, we're seeing very little option other than moving ahead with litigation," said Bill Stowe, CEO of Des Moines Water Works, on Thursday. "There's been very little active conversation and discussion of compromise."

Talking points

• The Iowa Farm Bureau said farmers are making a difference in water quality in Lake Rathbun, Hewitt Creek, Cedar Rapids and elsewhere. But "these stories and other facts are not being reported, so it's not a surprise that Iowans may not have all the information that may influence their perceptions."

The Des Moines Water Works' data show that "despite recent tumultuous weather-driven spikes, nitrates have been trending steady to lower for years. ... Actual progress has been made by Iowa farmers and urban leaders who have been working together for years," the Farm Bureau said.

• Bill Stowe, CEO of Des Moines Water Works, and others have criticized farmers for being slow to adopt the practices outlined in state nutrient reduction strategy, saying the voluntary effort has been ineffective in reducing nutrients.

"This is an issue where the political leadership has failed to act and something needs to happen to correct the course," Stowe said.

• The Iowa Soybean Association say more Iowa farmers are embracing conservation. But it says the state's goal to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous could require years to make significant change, and include implementing solutions that would cost $1.2 billion over five decades.

Roger Wolf, director of the Iowa Soybean Association's environmental programs, said the soybean association has invested about $40 million in conservation efforts over 13 years.

"It's significant," he said. "But compared to the scope of the problem, we need to find more ways to finance this work."

Nitrates' health effects

Infants younger than 6 months who drink water containing excessive levels of nitrates could become seriously ill, and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.