In his recent visit to Pella, Director of Des Moines Water Works Bill Stowe discussed a lawsuit in which the utility is suing three rural counties northwest of the metro.

Stowe is critical of politicians and leaders in the industrial agriculture industry for what he feels has been a lack of responsiveness to water quality issues.

Stowe says a consequence of the lawsuit against the counties on the Raccoon River basin has been a closing of communication lines between all involved parties.

He’s also been targeting the Iowa nutrient reduction strategy, a voluntary program designed to reduce nutrients in surface water, which Stowe believes doesn’t go far enough to address nitrate concentrations in Iowa’s waterways.