The City of Cedar Rapids will receive $7 million in funding from the federal government to improve water quality in the Cedar River. The city announced on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) selected its Cedar River Source Water Partnership (CRSWP) project as one of the recipients of its […]
Water Quality
Posted inFood & Drink
For Iowa brewers, water quality is ‘a really big deal’
According to Iowa brewers, a beer is only as good as the water used to make it. Inside West O Beer’s taproom in West Okoboji is a poster that proudly states, “To us, the water is a really big deal.” West O owner Matthew Matthiesen said the poster has been there since the taproom opened, emphasizing how important clean water is to
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Peak pig’ in Iowa leads to a ‘staggering’ amount of shit in the state
It’s probably not an accomplishment state officials will want to boast about, but Iowa out-performs the rest of the country when it comes to producing shit. That is, literal fecal waste. Chris Jones, a research engineer and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Iowa, IIHR, has done the math: Iowa, with a population of 3.2 million, produces more than twice the amount of fecal waste per square mile than California, which has almost 40 million people.
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa environmentalists scored a victory for water quality as 2017 ended
Last year saw many setbacks for environmentalists as President Trump and Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), took charge of the federal government’s environmental policy. But in Iowa, 2017 ended with a win for those concerned about the state’s water quality.
Posted inCommunity/News, Features
Federal judge kills Des Moines Water Works lawsuit
Federal Judge Leonard Strand threw out the Des Moines Water Works’ water quality lawsuit against drainage districts in three northern Iowa counties. “I’m pleased to see an end to this costly litigation brought about by the Des Moines Water Works,” Gov. Terry Branstad said in a press release. The basis of the suit was that […]
Posted inCommunity/News, Features
Iowa’s water quality problems aren’t new, and they’re not going away anytime soon
Iowa may be the home of “fields of opportunity,” but those fields are often draining directly into an extensive system of underground tiles and then into streams and rivers, creating a costly problem for drinking water treatment plants and for others interested in maintaining clean waterways. Although Iowa politicians, including Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, have pointed to Iowa’s water quality as a key issue, critics say progress is too slow and current efforts don’t go far enough.
Posted inCommunity/News, Features
Public hearing on water utility legislation drew a crowd
An overflow crowd packed a meeting room and hallway Monday morning at the Iowa State Capitol Building for a public hearing on a contentious water utilities bill that would impact the Des Moines Water Works. Speakers at the hearing raised the specter of the Flint, Michigan water crisis and argued that the legislation was payback for the water works’ water quality lawsuit against three rural counties.
