The Des Moines Water Works lawsuit might hit a little closer to home for some people here at Dordt College, especially for those who are involved in agriculture in the state of Iowa. In March 2015, the Water Works Company in Des Moines filed a lawsuit against three drainage districts north of the city on the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers. They claim that there are massive problems with nitrates in Des Moines drinking water supplies. The company seems to believe that the nitrates have come from farm fields throughout the three districts: Sac, Calhoun, and Buena Vista countries. They claim that the nitrates leached out of agricultural fields into the drainage tiles which then ended up in the river and finally in the city’s drinking water supply.
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The utility was seeking “federal oversight of the drainage district, and indirectly farmers, under the Clean Water Act.” Whereas attorneys for the counties denied that “the field tiles are contributing to Des Moines’ nitrate problems” and were seeking for the lawsuit to be dismissed, (Eller, 2015). The lawsuit did not end up going to court on August 8th however due to scheduling conflicts; a new date was set for mid-September. The case was heard in the federal court in Sioux City and was not quite what people were expecting. The lawsuit or hearing was asking the Iowa Court to rule on questions of Iowa law raised in the case. So, the case ended up boiling down to the question as to whether “the drainage districts that were created by the Iowa Legislature to drain excess water from agricultural lands [can] be sued for monetary damages caused by pollution that flows from those drainage systems?” (Laird, 2016). The answer to the question according to the lawyers for the drainage districts was no, as there are Iowa Supreme Court rulings which date back to 1904 stating that drainage districts are exempt from damages. The court seemed to agree with the drainage districts that they had immunity due to the laws in place. The only way for the immunity to be changed would be by state
The utility was seeking “federal oversight of the drainage district, and indirectly farmers, under the Clean Water Act.” Whereas attorneys for the counties denied that “the field tiles are contributing to Des Moines’ nitrate problems” and were seeking for the lawsuit to be dismissed, (Eller, 2015). The lawsuit did not end up going to court on August 8th however due to scheduling conflicts; a new date was set for mid-September. The case was heard in the federal court in Sioux City and was not quite what people were expecting. The lawsuit or hearing was asking the Iowa Court to rule on questions of Iowa law raised in the case. So, the case ended up boiling down to the question as to whether “the drainage districts that were created by the Iowa Legislature to drain excess water from agricultural lands [can] be sued for monetary damages caused by pollution that flows from those drainage systems?” (Laird, 2016). The answer to the question according to the lawyers for the drainage districts was no, as there are Iowa Supreme Court rulings which date back to 1904 stating that drainage districts are exempt from damages. The court seemed to agree with the drainage districts that they had immunity due to the laws in place. The only way for the immunity to be changed would be by state