Public health

A rare victory for Iowa water quality

Following a public outcry, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has abandoned an effort to weaken the state’s E. coli water quality standards. Officials had designed the change with the explicit goal of reducing the number of Iowa waterways deemed impaired.

Environmental advocates had warned public health would suffer if the DNR assessed waterways based on average readings of E. coli levels, rather than the highest single measurement of the bacteria. When the DNR submitted proposed administrative rule changes to the state Environmental Protection Commission this summer, environmentalists were alarmed by a passage in the cover letter from Water Quality Bureau Chief Jon Tack (emphasis added):

The second purpose of this proposed rule is to update the water quality criteria for E. coli by eliminating the existing single sample maximum value. The DNR has determined that the single sample maximum value is overly stringent and is not an appropriate tool for water quality assessment and permitting purposes. The geometric mean E. Coli value will be retained as it is the more appropriate measure and is protective of recreational activity in Iowa’s waters. This change will result in fewer water bodies being listed as impaired by the overly stringent single sample maximum E. coli value. […]

Recent Posts

Scathing report released detailing Navy’s handling of Red Hill fuel spill

The Inspector General of the Department of Defense released some scathing reports Thursday over the…

5 days ago

Growing Food Instead of Grass Lawns in California Front Yards

Photo: Morgan Boone, a volunteer with Crop Swap LA, harvested lettuce at the La Salle…

2 weeks ago

LA River restoration connects us back to ‘the life force of our city’

Los Angeles residents at a section of the Los Angeles River cleanup in Los Angeles,…

3 weeks ago

LAist: New study raises questions about heavy metals in fire retardants

Over the past decade, about 67 million gallons of fire retardant have been dropped on…

3 weeks ago

Meadow and watershed restoration in the Golden Trout Wilderness

Photo: Golden Trout Wilderness Seeking blue, seeing gold The Kern Plateau features a chain of…

3 weeks ago

First sighting of salmon in 100 years marks key milestone for California dam removal

For the first time in more than a century, a salmon was observed swimming through Klamath…

4 weeks ago