The first of the Carroll Chamber Legislative Forums was held Saturday morning in the activity building at New Hope Village, and Representative Brian Best and Senator Mark Segebart had water quality as one of the featured topics of discussion. Segebart said this is a very big issue for everyone.
He said the lawsuit brought by the Des Moines Water Works against the drainage districts in Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista Counties could have just as easily included Carroll County. Gov. Terry Branstad has proposed that a local sales tax program for school infrastructures be extended and that a portion of those dollars would be allocated to the water quality issues the state is
Carroll Community School District Superintendent Rob Cordes, who was present at the forum, said he too was not in favor of tying water quality to school funding. Best added that there are many studies being conducted now on the nitrate levels and their origination. The experts are saying that much of what the state is seeing may be from unusually wet weather patterns in conjunction with nitrates that would be in the ground whether it was fallow or farmed.
The water quality initiative proposed by Branstad will be a major focal point in this year’s legislative session. We will bring you more from Saturday’s forum in upcoming broadcasts.
