In a ruling that came down this morning (Friday) the Iowa Supreme Court has denied a request from the Des Moines Water Works to pursue damages from three upstream counties for the costs associated with removing nitrates from water in the Raccoon River. The courts stated that the drainage districts in Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista Counties could not be held liable for farmland drainage into the waterway, and that Iowa Law has named drainage districts immune from such court action for over a century. This immunity had been more recently upheld in a ruling four years ago. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, said this is a significant loss for the Des Moines Water Works. “Their failed strategy seeks to circumvent well-established Iowa law with more than 100 years of precedent,” he said. “Unfortunately, it has already cost Des Moines Water Works ratepayers more than $1 million in lawyer fees that could be better spent improving their infrastructure and serving their customers.” Northey added this has been a needless distraction from the collaborative, research-based work that Iowans are implementing to improve water quality.
