Des Moines Water Works plans to sue three Iowa counties over unregulated nitrate pollution

Des Moines Water Works in the US is planning to sue three counties in the north-western part of the state for polluting Raccoon River.

Supplying water to 500,000 residents, the public utility was struggling to keep the city and its surrounding areas clean from contaminants, most of which flows down from upstream farms, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Calhoun, Buena Vista and Sac counties are accused of rising nitrate levels in the Racoon river, which is a primary water source for the city.

Water Works CEO Bill Stowe was quoted by the AP saying: "They’re transporting groundwater that is heavily polluted because of the agricultural activities.

"They’re a point-source polluter like a factory or a city stormwater system or a wastewater plant.

"The state has chosen to turn its head from regulating them and we’re obviously at a point where we no longer consider that to be a tenable outcome."

According to US Department of Agriculture statistics, the three counties house approximately 1.2 million hogs, over a million turkeys and 96,000 cows.

Though the nitrogen-rich manure and fertilisers are good for high corn yields, those can wash into water sources and pollute rivers and streams when left unattended.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard for safety is 10mg/l for city water systems.

Water from Raccoon River was recently recorded with 14 mg/l, while another drinking water source for the city, Des Moines River, was more than 12 mg/l. Treated water supplied via Water Works was found with a little below 8 mg/l on Wednesday, reported AP.

The decision for the lawsuit filing awaits approval from the utility’s board, which will be collected through a voting method.

Iowa governor Terry Branstad considers the legal approach to be a ‘big mistake’. Mr Branstad said: "I believe the voluntary approach we have is the most likely to be effective.

"I think it would be much better to work in a collaborative basis to try to identify where the problems are and how they can be addressed."

Water Works CEO Bill Stowe said he is left with little choice than to take legal action against the counties. The nitrate removal process has been costing the utility a significant amount of money since December 2014, which is increasing water bills for consumers.

Mr Stowe said: "Because nitrate continues to be introduced in the watershed at high levels, we are forced to use emergency storage water, in addition to running the nitrate removal facility, in order to maintain delivery of safe drinking water to our customers.

"While Des Moines Water Works continues to incur costs and reduce available water storage, polluters of the watershed are not regulated.

"This is a public health issue for our customers. We cannot continue to meet the increasing water demand of our customers without regulation of pollutants in our source water."