Rural Issue

A tale of two cities

When the board of Des Moines Water Works—the public water utility for the city of Des Moines—voted in early January to sue three northwestern Iowa counties over nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, it sent shock waves throughout Iowa and across the U.S.

Iowa ag leaders expressed disappointment and frustration with the decision, saying they would have appreciated the opportunity to work with Water Works on ways to address the issue rather than fighting it out in the court system.

Meanwhile, those same ag leaders are applauding a much different approach to the nutrient runoff issue being taken by another major city in Iowa.

The city of Cedar Rapids has launched what it calls the Middle Cedar Partnership Project. It will provide funding to farmers along the Cedar River who are willing to participate and cost-share in a variety of projects, such as growing cover crops; using technology to more precisely apply nitrogen to farm fields; and installing buffers, wetlands, and bioreactors to control and clean farm runoff.

The project is being funded by a two million dollar grant from a new USDA watershed conservation program along with more than two million dollars in cash and in-kind help from 16 partner businesses and entities.

At the recent Iowa Soybean Association Research in Ames, we had the opportunity to visit with Steve Hershner, director of utilities for the city of Cedar Rapids, about their decision to work with the ag community in addressing the issue of nutrient runoff.

AUDIO: Steve Hershner