protecting surface waters in agricultural watersheds€¦ · protecting surface waters in...
TRANSCRIPT
Protecting Surface Waters in
Agricultural Watersheds
Bill StoweCEO & General Manger
Des Moines, Iowa
The Blue Planet
• Earth’s surface is approximately 75% water
• 97% of Earth’s water is salt water
• 80% of fresh water is in ice
• The human body is 70% water
• Humans are nearly 100% water at conception
• Available potable water is shrinking
Signs of Water Quality Endangerment
In Iowa:
• “Impaired waters” – limited human contact
• Beach closures – bacterial risk
• High nitrate concentration – record
denitrification (148 days in 2015)
Nationally:
• Hypoxic Zone growth
Water in the News
Nitrates on
Long Rise
April 12, 2015
High Nitrate
Levels Plague 60
Iowa Cities
July 5, 2015
Gulf dead zone now as
big as Connecticut and
Rhode Island Combined
August 4, 2015Des Moines water
supplier to sue
counties over
nitrates
March 10, 2015
“Simple Molecule,
Complex Commodity”
Solvents and Solutes
water assumes some
characteristics of
materials it contacts
DMWW
Service Area
• Urban
• Suburban
• Rural
DMWW Treatment Plants &
Distribution System
3 treatment plants
2 ASR wells
1 infiltration gallery
1,360 miles of pipe
Saylorville Treatment
Plant (10 mgd)
McMullen Treatment
Plant at Maffitt (25 mgd)
Fleur Drive Treatment
Plant (75 mgd)
Louise P. Moon ASR
(3 mgd) Nollen Tower
Wilchinski Tower
Tenny Tower
Hazen Tower
Future Polk County ASR
McMullen ASR
(3 mgd)
Fleur Drive Gallery
One Water Management
• Stormwater, sanitary and
potable water are
interconnected
• Environmental protection
falls on the back of suburban
and urban, while the rest of
the state gets a free pass
The Hydrologic Cycle
Des Moines Lobe: Raccoon River &
Des Moines River Watersheds
Top Pollutant Concerns in Source Water
• Nutrients: nitrates, phosphorus, ammonia
• Microbial Contaminants: bacteria, protozoa, and viruses
• Spills
• Total Organic Carbon
• Trichloroethylene (TCE)
• Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM)
• Atrazine and Glyphosate (Roundup®)
• Emerging Contaminants: pharmaceuticals and personal
care products, and hexavalent chromium
Safe Drinking Water Act
Laboratory Testing
Microorganisms 7
Disinfectants 3
Disinfection Byproducts 4
Inorganic Chemicals 16
Organic Chemicals 53
Radionuclides 4
TOTAL 87*
*30 related to agriculture
• 60,000 analyses conducted
by DMWW for annual water
production, at a retail cost of
$650,000.
• There are also a number of
unregulated contaminants that
are voluntarily monitored to
ensure the safety of our
customers, i.e. Cyanobacteria
and algal toxins.
Nitrates (NO3) in Water
• EPA Safe Drinking Water Standard: 10 mg/L.
• Nitrate levels above the standard are a public
health risk. Particularly at risk are infants below six
months of age who, if left untreated, could become
seriously ill or die.
• Nitrate treatment not addressed through traditional
lime softening/filtration system. Side-stream
treatment is required.
Treatment Plant
Recharge Ponds
Drainage Tiling:
Increasing Water
Quantity while
Reducing Water
Quality
Regulate to treat at
the point of
discharge of outlet
What is a Drainage District?
• Public utility chartered to drain water from agricultural
ground (under Ch. 468, Code of Iowa)
• Iowa legislative priority in 1890s
• Taxing authority over benefited farms
• Overseen by Boards of Supervisors in county served
or elected trustees
• Historically focused solely on moving water downstream
without regard to water quality and quantity impacts
Private Tiles = Blue
Public Lines = Green
Iowa’s Pattern Tiling System2 square miles in Hamilton County, Iowa
Public tile ~3 miles with private tile ~56 miles
April 29, 2007
Source: Iowa DNR
Source: Circle of Blue
What Triggered the Decision to Sue?
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days
Raccoon River Des Moines River
Number of Days Above the 10 mg/L
Nitrate Safe Drinking Water Standard
*Jan
-Jun
e
Denitrification CostsAdditional cost to meet EPA drinking water standard
2013 Costs
Treatment Cost $722,500
Lost Revenue $186,200
Total 2013 Expense $908,700
2014-2015 Costs
Treatment Cost $1,500,000
Total 14-15 Expense $1,500,000
Paid for by DMWW ratepayers
Estimated Cost for New Denitrification Facility$76 million – $183 million
The Major Driver of
Surface Water Quality in Iowa
Des Moines Lobe
Des Moines
Approximately 10,000
square miles upstream
Row crop
Grass
Water
Woody
“Corn and soybean fields
are the primary cause of
nitrate in Iowa waterways.”- Michael Castellano and Matthew Helmers,
Iowa State University
The Des Moines Register, April 12, 2015
The Major Driver of
Surface Water Quality in Iowa
Raccoon River
Watershed
Des Moines
River Watershed
Des Moines Lobe
Des Moines
“In 1950, the total
number of farm
animals in the U.S.
was nearly 100 million;
by 2007, that number
was roughly 9.5 billion,
an increase of 9,400%.
Meanwhile, the
number of farmers fell
by 60%.” - Barron’s, July 27, 2015
Agriculture Myth: The Family Farm that “Feeds the World”
Approximately 90,000 Iowa farms
Nearly 90% of Iowa’s food is imported
Description of image.
Industrial Agriculture Reality:
Highly Capital Intensive, Federally Subsidized
Business
$1.3 Billion in USDA Payments (second only to Texas)
What’s Unique About River Waters in
Central Iowa?
Mark B. DavidUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone at 5 Year Average:
Nutrient Reduction Strategy
Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy:
Iowa Public Policy Approach
• *Sources not currently regulated account for 92% of the
total nitrogen* Nutrient Reduction Strategy incorrectly labels these as “non-point sources”
• Reduce nutrient pollutants by 45%
No timelines
No commitments to measurement or metrics
No resource commitments to voluntarism
• Regulate 10% of nutrient contributors and pursue
voluntarism (non-regulation) of 90%
Since Nutrient Reduction Strategy Implemented…
This Trend Will Not Change By Voluntary Measures
10
Lesson of Summer of 2012: Quality not Quantity
Conservation
Practices
Cover Crops
Bioreactors Saturated Buffer Strips
Constructed Wetlands
Prairie Strips
If you convert
10% of a field of
row crops to
prairie, soil loss
can be reduced
by 95%, nutrient
loss by 80-90%
and water runoff
by 44%
“There is no single strategy to effectively reduce nitrate loss.
Individual farms will require different combinations of nitrate
strategies...All the scenarios require high levels of implementation
of a wide variety of methods… All landowners in Iowa will need to
engage in nutrient reduction strategies if we are to reach our
water quality goals.”- Michael Castellano and Matthew Helmers, Iowa State University
The Des Moines Register, April 12, 2015
Impending “Tragedy of the Unregulated
Commons?”
• Iowa’s water use is based on riparian water rights
which are derived from the ownership of land adjacent
to a river or stream. That owner has the right to
reasonable use of the water which the land is adjacent
to, so long as that reasonable use does not harm
another’s use.
• “Water occurring in a basin or watercourse …is public
water and public wealth of the people of the state …
The control and development and use of water for all
beneficial purposes is vested in the state.”
- Iowa Code 455B.262 (3)
“The land might be yours,
but the water belongs to all of us.”- Governor Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Sac County, Iowa
No other business besides agriculture
can run a pipe without regulation
into the Waters of the State
“Collaboration” with Deniers?
“Defendants deny that the drainage districts have taken
any actions that detrimentally impact Des Moines Water
Works customers….and deny that they have caused or
contributed to any eutrophication or hypoxic conditions in
the Gulf of Mexico.”- Defendants’ answer to Des Moines Water Works’ Federal Clean Water Complaint
“It’s unclear how, exactly, city dwellers are supposed to cooperate
with farmers whose operations pollute the drinking water.
Perhaps cooperation means to shut up and stop complaining.”- Richard Doak, Retired Opinion Editor of The Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register, August 30, 2015
Des Moines Water Works
Business Commitment and
Surface Water Strategy
Invest in
Infrastructure
Improve
TechnologiesAdvocate for
Clean Water
Safe, Affordable and Abundant Water You Can Trust for Life
+ +
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Regulate to Protect Source Waters
• Pharmaceuticals Patient Safety
• Restaurants Patron/Public Safety
• Air Traffic Travelers/Commerce Safety
• Traffic Laws Motorist Safety
• Air Quality Human and Wildlife Safety
• Water Quality Heavily regulated in urban
environment, but voluntarily “regulated” in agriculture
Regulation Protects Community
Interests
Has voluntary environmental protection worked? DDT… Lead in gasoline … Phosphorus in detergents