U.S. Water News Online
OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- Randy Pleima takes a sip of the water coming out of the pipes at his treatment plant. It is clear, clean and safe.
It is water that comes nowhere near the nitrate danger levels mentioned so often by safety experts. There is no need for warnings about children or babies.
Although Pleima is in the water-treatment business, he says most of the credit goes to the farmers who live throughout the county where he lives and draws this water out of a series of wells. The water here is pretty good even before it comes to his treatment facility.
``Through our testing we keep a close track of nitrates,'' Pleima says. ``Since 1996 our levels have dropped from 1.5 parts per million to 0.2 parts per million. The EPA says 10 parts per million is safe.''
So Pleima, general manager of Mahaska Rural Water Systems, is proud of the quality of the water his system offers to its thousands of rural users. He says most of the credit should go to the farmers of the area, who have changed their systems aimed specifically at improving the environment and improving water quality.
``I think better farming practices by the farmers is the biggest reason (for the improvement in nitrate levels since 1996),'' he says. ``Almost all the manure applied in the county is knifed in now. And we have a buffer strip program along the streams.''
The story varies in different parts of the state, but it is generally the same in many areas, says Emily Eide, chief executive officer of the Iowa Rural Water Association, the industry group representing Iowa's 20 rural water associations.
Water quality, she says, is improving. Rural water associations are growing. In a way it doesn't make sense, Eide concedes. If water quality is improving across Iowa, she wonders why more rural residents are opting to hook into a rural water system. She says convenience, finances, and quality of service are factors.
Pleima agrees. Many people who build houses in the country would rather hook into a water system than spend the money to drill a well. That decision reduces the size of the home loan and is a plus for lenders, who see a simple monthly bill as more reasonable than an upfront expenditure of several thousand dollars for a well.
When a drought hits, such as this year's, the knowledge there is no well to run dry and leave farmers desperate for water for themselves and for their livestock is important. Also, as regulations regarding water safety take effect, some small communities have decided it is more economical to connect the entire town to a rural water system than to hire the help needed to conduct their own water-testing program. So the various water associations continue to grow.
``We started pumping water in 1980 with 880 users,'' Pleima says of Mahaska Rural Water. ``Now we have over 2,100 users.''
On average, customers use nearly twice as much water as they did in 1980. This is partly due to the addition of more livestock facilities that are connected to the rural water system.
``Its really grown,'' Pleima says. ``And, the biggest growth is new homes.''
In that way, Pleima says, rural water systems have been good for rural economic development in the state. They eliminate one of the roadblocks facing new rural residents, that of safe and dependable drinking water. Urban residents can move to a rural area and connect to an existing, safe water system without worrying about the cost of drilling a well.
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