Mike Tramontina's Remarks to Polk County Board of Supervisors July 1, 2025
Mike Tramontina is a member of the Iowa Chapter Executive Committee.
The Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment report can be found at www.polkcountyiowa.gov/public-works/water-resources/polk-county-water-quality-initiatives/
For the past month and into the foreseeable future, 600,000 Central Iowans are under mandatory water use restrictions from Central Iowa Water Works because of poor water quality in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. It is important to note this restriction is not caused by lack of quantity but solely due to pollution. According to a draft of the Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment, the pollutants in the water are nitrates, well above the Safe Drinking Water standards. Nitrates get into the water from over-application of livestock manure and commercial fertilizers on farmland that then runs-off into our rivers and streams. The Assessment found that agriculture contributes about 80% of all nitrogen in the rivers. This situation is only one symptom of having over 700 “impaired” lakes, rivers and streams in our state that are unsafe for drinking, fishing or swimming. This is truly an alarming situation.
I thank the Polk County Board for commissioning Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment which can be a first step in bringing about statewide policies to clean-up the people’s water. I believe the assessment and recommendations can be a turning point in the long running struggle over pollution in Iowa’s water. The assessment is the result of over 4,000 hours of work by 16 scientists based on solid science. I am disappointed the Board did not schedule a presentation of the results of the assessment and the recommendations.
I also thank Polk County for an investment in demonstrations of “edge-of-field” practices. I look forward to reading and hearing more about what you’ve learned and what progress has been made. However, it is important to recognize those practices will never be sufficient to make meaningful progress on the problems in the Des Moines and Raccoon River watersheds. The edge-of-field practices are micro in scale. They can improve a single farming operation but the problem we face is watershed-wide in scale and requires watershed-wide and statewide changes.
In every news report I’ve read or seen on the draft report, a political leader has said we need to consider the effects on the farmers and landowners. Of course, their views will always be taken fully into account. They have power and wealth, and their concerns will no doubt be fully aired.
But I want to remind you today about what usually goes unsaid. The other half of that equation: What about the babies who can’t drink water that comes out of our taps; and what about the pregnant mothers who put their babies at risk if they drink the tap water; and the what about the rest of the hundreds of thousands of people in Iowa who are purchasing filters and cases of bottled water every time they shop because they are afraid to give tap water to their children? And what about the Dead Zone in the Gulf where no fish, shrimp, crab or clams can live? The EPA says the biggest contributor to the Dead Zone is Iowa. I hope that in all future discussions every time someone says, “What about the farmers?”, one of you will say “What about the babies, will they be able to drink the water?”
It is obvious Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy has failed. It has been in place for more that 12 years and the water quality is worse now than it was then. I don’t think the problems are with the conservation steps outlined in the strategy, rather the problem is that there are no measurements, no goals, no deadlines by which to measure progress. As a result, there has been no progress. Progress cannot be measured in the numbers of farmers who implement a conservation plan. Progress needs to be measured in the quality of water flowing in those rivers and lakes.
I’ve worked on legislation and public policy in Iowa for 30 years. The real obstacle to progress is not the steps outlined in the strategy. The real obstacles are the lawyers and lobbyists who write the loopholes in legislation and administrative rules, and public relations firms and advertisers who manipulate public opinion and finally, the people who control the political action committees. That group denies there is a problem or they blame someone else. They will never voluntarily agree to clean up our water. We need to take the decisions out of their hands and expect our governmental officials to put in place policies to protect the public.
I look forward to receiving the report and reading it. We look forward to working with you on the recommendations. As a first step I urge you to use your power to convene to give the public a full presentation of the report. Allow Jennifer Terry, Coordinator of the report and 5 or 6 of the scientists who contributed to explain it in a public forum and answer questions.
I’ll close on a positive note- It doesn’t have to be this way. Our rivers can be cleaned up. The Des Moines and Raccoon can be brought back to drinkable, swimmable and fishable quality and by natural processes. Pick up a Sierra Club magazine or any nature or conservation magazine and you’ll find lots of stories about water bodies the size of Chesapeake Bay and the Everglades, the Klamath River and more. They are being cleaned-up with natural processes and fish and wildlife are returning in a short time. I expect the recommendations in this report will show us the way to clean Iowa’s water.
I plead with you- Be the bridge to healthier drinking water and healthier farms. Don’t be the roadblock.
Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to working with you on the recommendations.