Statement From Jeff Vonk
On Iowa Impaired Waters List

The new impaired waters list is proof that Iowa’s investment in water quality improvements is beginning to show positive results.

The first necessary step to improve waters is to diagnose their condition and determine, scientifically, what needs to be fixed. Because of the significant increased investment over the past several years in water quality monitoring, we are able to credibly list specific waterbodies with specific problems that we can take to Iowans for their help in making improvements.

With nearly 100 active water quality improvement projects ongoing, Iowans are supporting the need for better care of their water. While this impaired list gives a clear focus for the future, it does not, however, highlight some of the real accomplishments. The list, for example, does not include 25 waterbodies on the 1998 that we were able to take off the 2002 list because of improvements in monitoring and modeling. An additional 13 were delisted because of a successful water quality improvement project.

We have streams in northeast Iowa where we are documenting natural trout reproduction where we haven’t had that before. Some of our lake restoration projects like Lake Ahquabi have resulted in tremendous water quality improvements that have also resulted into positive economic development benefits. At that lake alone, we have been able to document park visitation increasing more than four-fold since the water quality improvement project. At Pine Lakes, we have documented a reduction in sediment delivery by 66 percent and extended the life of Upper Pine Lake alone by more than 100 years. Many of the waterbodies that have been included on Iowa’s impaired waters list are undergoing large-scale renovation projects, including Clear Lake and Rock Creek Lake. We expect these efforts to result in significant water quality improvement over the next several years.

Still, we know that with more monitoring, we are likely to find new waters in need of help. Iowans are becoming more attuned to water quality issues, and we are seeing more and more interest among citizens to do what must be done to improve water quality all over the state.