Is the water in Iowa’s rivers, lakes and streams as good as it used to be? Critics often tell the public that the quality of the state’s surface water has never been worse and that government mandates are needed to force improvements. But that’s not the view of one expert who has spent decades monitoring the quality of Iowa’s surface water. Dean Lemke of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, says that quality of the water in our state’s rivers, lakes and streams is actually better than it was a decades ago when he started at the department, and maybe better than it’s been since the early days of European settlement in the Hawkeye State.
One of the biggest reasons our water quality is better, Lemke said at a recent environmental meeting, is that more and more Iowa farmers are taking action to make it better. They are switching to farming practices that reduce soil erosion. They are planting grassy strips on stream banks to catch sediment before it reaches the streams. And they are restoring wetlands that reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels. Indeed, Iowans lead the nation in adopting these practices and more want to. The state’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement program which helps farmers establish wetlands to improve water quality, is continually oversubscribed with farmers who want to participate.
Some Iowa farmers are looking for new ways to protect the state’s water while growing more of the food the world needs. One good example is Matt Schuiteman of Sioux Center. He’s working with Dordt College environment studies professor Robb De Haan to test various cropping systems on land he farms near wells that provide a portion of Sioux Center’s drinking water. They hope to determine which rotation works best to reduce nitrogen levels in water wells while still providing income for farmers. Their project, supported by a grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, should be valuable to rural communities all over Iowa and the Midwest which draw drinking water from shallow wells. No government mandate forced Schuiteman to take the initiative. He cares about his community’s water and wanted to research ways to protect it.
Half-way across the state, near Webster City, the Iowa Soybean Association Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance and the Sand County Foundation, recently installed a device called a bioreactor on the farm of Arlo Van Diest. Preliminary research has shown that bioreactors, which are basically trenches filled with wood chips, can significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen flowing out of farm tile lines. When offered the chance to test the project on his farm, Van Diest was more than willing to join in. He and his long-time farming partner John Larson, have always looked for ways to improve water quality and the bioreactor technology looks like a promising way to do that. Once again, there was no government mandate. Instead, the farmers were interested in finding new ways to protect water quality.
Experts, like Lemke, are very encouraged by these kinds of efforts by farmers to find new ways to continually improve water quality. “It’s important to recognize how far we’ve come with water quality and it’s exciting to see where we are going,” he said.
Written by Dirck Steimel
Dirck is the News Services Manager for Iowa Farm Bureau.
July 8, 2009 at 2:23 pm |
Interesting. I’ve been working on water quality issues for years, and I don’t hear critics saying that Iowa water has “never been worse.” What I hear critics saying is that water needs to become a lot cleaner than it is.
And yes, Iowa water quality went downhill in the century after European-style agriculture began here. And that’s interesting too, considering the frequent assertion, which I saw again a few days ago, that “farmers were conservationists before anyone else.” Some farmers were, and are, dedicated conservationists who deserve public praise. Some farmers weren’t and aren’t. A drive through my county could show examples of both.
And this column doesn’t mention the Dead Zone. It’s one thing if Iowa decides that we’re content with the current state of our water. It’s another thing to send our pollution down the Mississippi. The reality is that Iowa is one of the biggest contributors to the Dead Zone. That’s a primary reason why “government mandates” are being considered.
I’ve attended meetings of Iowa soil and water conservation district commissioners. Most of the ones I’ve talked with think that Iowa needs to do a lot better at soil and water protection. We’re still losing about 22 pounds of topsoil for every gallon of ethanol we produce. The state of our water is the responsibility of all Iowans. We need to do more if we want it to be cleaner.
July 16, 2009 at 10:21 am |
Researchers at Iowa State University have confirmed that Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program restored wetlands remove 40-90 percent of the nitrate and more than 90 of the herbicide in tile drainage water from upper-lying croplands. In addition to reducing nitrate loads to surface waters, the wetlands provide wildlife habitat and increased recreational opportunities. Currently, 35 of these CREP wetlands have been constructed or restored and 33 more are currently being designed. These Farm Bureau supported planned and constructed wetlands will protect 85,000 acres of watersheds in Iowa.
The effectiveness of these wetlands were recognized by the Gulf of Mexico Program, which is underwritten by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is dedicated to protecting, restoring and maintaining the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and USDA Farm Service Agency in Iowa were nominated by the Iowa Farm Bureau and received a “Gulf Guardian Award” in 2008 for their work to reduce nutrients traveling to the Gulf of Mexico and the effectiveness of these wetlands in removing nitrates.
Iowa Pilot for Integrated Drainage & Wetland Landscapes may be the next step in accelerating this progress. This is a proposed demonstration project to further document integrated drainage and wetland landscape systems optimized to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loads to surface waters, improve local surface and drinking water quality, address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, and optimize production and profitability of cultivated croplands. However, this plan also is likely to yield significant long-term climate changing greenhouse gas reductions. The 25 proposed pilot demonstrations of nutrient removal wetlands through existing locally-led drainage districts will be assessed to evaluate crop yield responses, wetland mitigation functions, and water quality and wildlife benefits.
Rick Robinson
Environmental Policy Advisor
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
July 18, 2009 at 10:46 pm |
The other side of the good news:
http://www.ewg.org/node/25937