Group presses for water quality
Voters can decide a ballot measure that could improve the quality of Iowa’s water in November. But they would have to pay for it.
Iowa is ranks 47th out of the 50 states per capita when it comes to spending on soil conservation and water quality, said Mark Langgin, the campaign manager for Iowa Water and Land Legacy.
The group hopes to create a trust fund that could be used to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and bolster fish and wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation. This will be a ballot issue in November.
On Wednesday, the Parks and Recreation Departments of Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty held a public-information forum to explain the ballot and answer any questions voters might have.
“I think it’s very telling that Iowa is 47th and 49th on the list of states,” said Brenda Nations, Iowa City’s environmental coordinator. “We have so little public lands in Iowa anyway, so I think preserving what we have is important.”
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Some money from the fund would be used for outreach and to prevent further environmental damage. The rest of the money would be available if an ecological emergency ever occurred.
“The natural world is falling apart because we’re not taking care of it,” said Connie Mutel, a University of Iowa hydroscience and engineering employee who attended the meeting. “This trust fund is to build an infrastructure in nature so nature can provide what we need for survival.”
But there’s a catch. If the ballot measure passes, the trust fund will be set up. But no money will flow into it unless the Legislature raises the sales tax. In that case, the first three-eights of the tax will go to the Iowa Water and Land Legacy.
It is not known when, if ever, the state legislature will raise sales taxes, said Mike Moran, Iowa City’s director of Parks and Recreation. This is just preparation for the future, he said.
If the trust fund is instated by voters, it would be funded by statewide sales taxes and distributed among every community in Iowa. Two-thirds of the trust fund is expected to go to water quality and soil conservation and the other third will go to protecting wetlands, which help prevent and reduce future floods, Langgin said.
Budgetary cuts have slashed money for preservation efforts down to pre-1995 level, said David Thayer, a Coralville Parks and Recreation Commission member.
This is a huge step backwards for a state that depends so heavily on agriculture, he said.
“Iowa water systems — lakes, rivers, creeks — are around the most polluted in the country,” Thayer said. “We’re working on reversing that. Ultimately, we will keep Iowa a agricultural economy for many years by preventing soil erosion.”
He called for better land practices that would be funded by the trust if it ever comes to fruition, mainly by working with farmers to keep waterways clean.
“Some of where we need to be is telling the farmers, ‘You cannot plant [corn] right up to the edge of your property because you are polluting into Iowa City,’ ” he said. “ ‘You are polluting the Mississippi River and all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.’ Unfortunately, the Legislature doesn’t have that kind of authority right now.”
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