When the Central Iowa Water Works turned on its nitrate removal system in January, it caught attention across the state. Winter operation is rare. Nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers were elevated. And once again, Iowa water quality and agriculture were in the news. In this episode of Under the Covers, we slow the conversation down. We talk about:
- The history and context behind Des Moines Water Works and Iowa farmers
- What actually happened during the 2015 Des Moines Water Works lawsuit
- How that moment intersected with the early days of Iowa Cover Crop
- What the nitrate removal system sounds like when it’s running
- How we felt about the lawsuit then and how we think about Iowa’s water quality progress now
- Practical ideas for improving water quality moving forward
This isn’t outrage radio. And we won’t pretend this is simple. It’s a farmer-to-farmer conversation about Iowa water quality, nitrogen management, responsibility, and the realities of modern agriculture. We don’t solve it. We don’t dodge it. We talk through it..and yes, we’re still playing cribbage while we do.
