Des Moines Water Works claims in a recent court filing opposing the Iowa counties and drainage districts that "…no effective measures to address nitrate pollution at its primary source have been taken for many reasons, including an erroneous, unreasoning, unsustainable, and ultimately shortsighted assumption that agricultural drainage infrastructure is, and must be, totally exempt from legal responsibility for its water pollution."

 

The 46-page brief from the DMWW was filed on Oct. 19, 2015, to oppose three counties and their drainage districts' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. They filed a nine-page motion on Sept. 24, 2015, asking a court to throw DMWW's case out of court. DMWW claims the drainage districts' legal position "cannot withstand scrutiny."

 

It claims  it obtains its raw water supply from the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers, and further claims EPA, under the Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the finished water to meet a nitrate standard of 10 parts per million. All true, but DMWW would have you believe the only pollutant it is taking out of its intake water is nitrate. It must also remove total suspended solids or sediment; biodegradable organics; pathogens; refractory pollutants such as pesticides; heavy metals from commercial and industrial activities; and dissolved inorganics such as sodium, calcium and sulfates.

 

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