Water Works won’t appeal lawsuit, calls for bold laws

Water Works won’t appeal lawsuit, calls for bold laws.
DES MOINES — The Des Moines Water Works will not appeal a decision in a landmark Federal Clean Water case, the utility announced Wednesday morning.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa issued its ruling on March 17, dismissing all of Des Moines Water Works’ claims against the boards of supervisors in Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties.
If the federal guys wanted to trump Iowa law, that would have probably been their only option to keep the suit going.
The lawsuit called for the drainage districts to take all necessary actions to comply with the Clean Water Act.
Water quality is an issue that we take very seriously, and the conclusion of the lawsuit will not change that,” said Bill Stowe, CEO of Des Moines Water Works.
The risks remain and demand immediate accountability to protect our state.” Stowe claims that the ruling dismissing the case did not dispute the assertion that drainage districts cause water quality problems in the river watershed.
Stowe added, “Policy and law must keep pace as public health and water quality concerns demonstrate both risk and cost to water consumers; that includes 100-year-old Iowa Code dealing with drainage districts and implementation of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.” The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy estimates that 92 percent of nitrate in Iowa’s water comes from unregulated sources, namely agriculture, and 8 percent from regulated sources, such as sewer systems, Stowe said.
“We hope that, rather than wasting valuable time and resources crafting legislation designed to punish Des Moines Water Works for filing the lawsuit, our legislators can create bold laws that address water pollution,” Stowe said.
“I can only speak for the farmer side of it.

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