Des Moines, IA — Today, in response to mounting public pressure to act on Iowa’s toxic nitrate contaminated waterways, linked to industrial agriculture and rising cancer rates, Governor Reynolds announced her proposal for a “comprehensive legislative package” on water quality. The announcement comes at the tail-end of Iowa’s legislative session–already nearly two weeks overdue–which could end as soon as today.

In response, Food & Water Action Senior Iowa Organizer Jennifer Breon issued the following statement:

“Governor Reynolds’ water quality proposal is too little too late. While we are glad to see our Governor finally break her silence in response to Iowans’ growing demands for action on clean water, her announcement is no response to the crisis we face. The message to Iowans is clear: this government has no intention of actually cleaning up our water.

“This proposal ignores the science, and will do nothing to address the root causes of pollution — industrial agriculture. Binding regulations are the only way to ensure water quality improvements, and they are extremely popular. 

“What’s more, excluding the University of Iowa’s nationally recognized system from water quality monitoring funding removes independent oversight and subjects basic transparency to excessive political influence. The legislature must act quickly to restore funding to the University of Iowa’s public monitoring system.

“If clean water is as ‘non-negotiable’ as the Governor claims, her party should have come to the table to debate real solutions to Iowa’s water crisis a long time ago. The continued failure to hold industrial agriculture polluters accountable for ruining Iowan’s drinking water will not fly at the polls this fall.”

Recent polling commissioned by Food & Water Action found that 82% of Iowa voters are more likely to vote for an elected official who makes it a top priority to protect clean water, including cutting industrial agriculture pollution. 79% of Iowa voters support mandatory requirements for industrial agriculture to reduce pollution. When forced to choose between limiting agriculture regulations and protecting clean water, the vast majority of Iowa voters, by a 70-28% margin, choose clean water.