Push for clean water isn’t over

Nearly 630,000 Iowans voted for Democrat Chris Jones in Iowa’s race for secretary of agriculture. It turns out a bunch of Iowans were ready to hear the unvarnished truth about Iowa’s dirty water and Jones’ plans to transform agriculture and revitalize rural Iowa.

Unfortunately, in what was billed as a referendum on water quality, the status quo prevailed. Republican incumbent Mike Naig received just over 700,000 votes. His generous friends in large agribusinesses, producer groups and the Farm Bureau spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost his campaign. They own the secretary’s office under Naig and wanted to protect their investment.

“Tonight, Iowans rejected divisive rhetoric and attacks on our farming community, choosing instead a positive vision for the future of Iowa agriculture,” Naig said on election night, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

As in positively nothing will change?

Nitrate will continue to drain from Iowa cropland into our lakes, streams and rivers. We’ll continue to make conservation measures that could stem the tide of nitrate strictly voluntary for landowners. It means more platitudes about progress and tax dollars spent with no proof our water is getting cleaner.

The nitrate load in waterways is not declining. Tile drainage lines are being added at a much faster pace than conservation efforts. Our current agricultural system has been a raw deal for farmers and rural communities.

Long-term exposure to nitrate, according to a stack of research, could increase Iowans’ risk of being diagnosed with multiple types of cancer. That cancer risk added a sense of urgency to Jones’ calls for big changes in agriculture. Iowa has one of the nation’s highest cancer rates and it’s growing.

“I really fear that these corporate agribusinesses are so commingled with our government, with both parties, that this is going to be a heavy, heavy lift,” Jones told supporters Tuesday.

TODD DORMAN

“And the only way that this will change is through grassroots demands.”

Jones offered a plan that could have helped farmers who want to explore new, more environmentally friendly crops.

He argued for growing food that would feed Iowans and beyond, and could bring more farmers and revive rural communities. He has the audacity to propose regulating farming practices that contribute to nitrate pollution.

Many Iowans embraced Jones’ message. But, in the end, more voters supported Naig’s approach, especially in Iowa’s rural counties.

There are 13 counties in the North Raccoon River Watershed, which provides drinking water to Des Moines and its suburbs. Jones won in the two urban/suburban counties, Dallas and Polk, but lost the rural counties in a landslide.

In six of those counties, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, Calhoun and Carroll, Naig received more than 70% of the vote.

The closest race was in Boone County, which Jones lost to Naig 57% to 43%.

These are the counties where nitrate drains into the Raccoon and downstream to the Central Iowa Water Works.

Nitrate levels routinely exceed the federal safe drinking water standard of 10 mg/L.

During the past two summers, the water utility issued use restrictions because its nitrate removal system was overwhelmed. Naig has proposed spending tax dollars on a smattering of conservation projects upstream, while also providing $25 million to the waterworks to expand its nitrate removal capacity.

It made for a great photo op, but something is very wrong with this picture.

Naig has hammered home the notion that advocating for real change is tantamount to hating farmers. Naig and his allies are content to let landowners believe golf courses, suburban lawns and goose poop are the real culprits behind our dirty water. The defenders of the status quo also own the state’s environmental regulatory process and the Republican-controlled Legislature. They have big media megaphones and lots of money.

Instead of stopping pollution, Naig contends we need to just deal with it until enough landowners volunteer to be part of the solution. Meanwhile, Iowa remains one of the biggest contributors to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

But something has changed.

Jones, a water quality researcher, may have lost the election, but the larger battle is just beginning. He traveled across the state holding town halls and informing Iowans of the facts and science behind our pollution problems. Those Iowans are now armed with that knowledge and will no longer accept business as usual.

They want the truth, and corporate agriculture can’t handle it.

Change is coming. We’ll have a governor who cares about water issues, even if his plan is frustratingly timid. Gov.-elect Rob Sand can make big changes in personnel in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He can appoint people who actually want to protect the environment to the Environmental Protection Commission. His power to affect this issue is broad. No budget becomes law without his signature.

Damn near every candidate on the ballot talked about water quality in 2026.

That’s never happened before. Jones deserves much of the credit.

And Republicans should think twice about refusing to take any meaningful action. This is now a big issue, and it won’t just fade away because Naig won.

“We’re going to demand change.

Change can happen. We should not be despondent or despair,” Jones said.

Jones started something, and it’s up to Iowans to keep the issue on the front burner, with the heat set on high. Election Day was a setback, but there’s no going back.

To ddDorman is opinion editor atThe Gazette. Comments: (319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette. com

Chris Jones, the Democratic candidate for Iowa ag secretary, speaks during a campaign benefit concert Sept. 15 at American Legion Post 160 in Delhi.

MICHAEL BANIEWICZ/THE GAZETTE